The European Union has sent TikTok an urgent request for information regarding potential influence on the first round of Romania’s presidential elections. This follows the release of intelligence reports by Romanian authorities suggesting interference.
The European Commission has asked TikTok to comment on these findings and explain the measures it is taking to address such threats.
According to Romanian intelligence, TikTok may have played a role in bolstering the success of right-wing candidate Călin Georgescu in the first round. Reports allege that one TikTok user paid $381,000 to influencers on the platform to promote content supporting Georgescu.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, stated that the EU is concerned about signs of coordinated foreign influence operations targeting the elections, particularly through TikTok. She called on the platform to urgently strengthen its content moderation policies and allocate more resources to counter disinformation.
TikTok has 24 hours to respond to the EU’s request.
Meanwhile, the second round of elections, initially scheduled for December 8, has been thrown into uncertainty. Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first-round results, in which Călin Georgescu was set to face pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi.
