TikTok tells European Parliament that it dismantled networks of accounts targeting Romanian audience

On Tuesday, December 3, the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection questioned TikTok representatives about how the company enforces the EU's digital rules in the context of recent elections in Europe, particularly Romania.

The EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which came fully into effect on February 17, 2024, imposes strict obligations on digital service providers, such as social media and e-commerce sites, to combat illegal content, online disinformation, and other societal risks. The European Commission, which has investigatory and sanctioning powers under the DSA, has begun reviewing how these obligations are being met by several very large online platforms.

When it comes to the Romanian elections in particular, the EU questioned TikTok's risk management processes in terms of information manipulation, the recommendation system, and third-party access to data.

Representatives of TikTok stated that they already closed numerous accounts targeting Romanian audiences with electoral content.

"Between September and yesterday, we removed 66,000 fake accounts and many fake followers. There are also fake channels impersonating political figures. We blocked 260,000 spam posts and are constantly striving to prevent disinformation and ensure as authentic behavior as possible,” said Brie Pegum, Global Head of Product for Authenticity & Transparency at TikTok, cited by G4Media.

She also said that the platform makes ongoing efforts to check accounts and networks.

Pegum claimed that all candidates in Romania's presidential elections were "labeled as such" by TikTok.

"We did not make a distinction between those with a party and those without,” she said.

In turn, Caroline Greer, Public Policy Director at TikTok, stated that on the platform "if an influencer accepts payment to promote political content, they violate our rules."

She also said that the company has been in contact with Romanian authorities in the months leading up to the elections. The company representative noted that they received a request to investigate independent candidate Mircea Geoană in October.