TikTok Forms Election Task Force for Romanian Presidential Elections, According to EU Commissioner
On Monday, April 7, Europe's tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, spilled the beans to the IMCO committee of the European Parliament, dishing about TikTok enhancing its defenses to safeguard the upcoming Romanian presidential elections from foreign meddling.
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The EU Commission sprang into action, investigating the Chinese platform last December, following the annulment of the initial round of voting by Romania's Constitutional Court. The EU executive was hot on TikTok's tail, checking if it violated the Digital Services Act, which keeps tabs on illegal content, transparent funding, and disinformation.
Spilling the beans, Virkkunen revealed TikTok's internal updates. These included sharper detection and labeling of political accounts, beefing up the platform with more Romanian language experts, and adding an extra 120 experts to the Romanian electoral task force, all of whom are seasoned in rooting out covert influence campaigns and shady ad practices.
Memberful of regulators' responsibility to ensure digital platforms toe the EU's electoral security line, the committee emphasized the importance of vigilant monitoring.
Last November's Romania election's first round was given the ax based on intel reports. These suggested that Russia had wooed the voters via social media to back extremist candidate Călin Georgescu. The under-the-radar candidate exploded in popularity on TikTok before the vote, raising eyebrows.
Will TikTok's new moves be enough to keep foreign forces at bay, and secure a clean democratic process in Romania? Time will tell.
(Photo credit: LCVA | Dreamstime.com)
[1] "Romanian Constitutional Court cancels first round of parliamentary elections", European Council, December 10, 2020, https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/12/10/romanian-constitutional-court-cancels-first-round-of-parliamentary-elections/[2] "TikTok, we gotta talk", European Commission, November 11, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/news/tiktok-we-gotta-talk_en[3] "TikTok to beef up content moderation after EU antitrust probe", Reuters, February 10, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-beef-up-content-moderation-after-eu-antitrust-probe-2021-02-10/[4] "TikTok boosts moderation as part of EU antitrust probe", Politico EU, February 10, 2021, https://www.politico.eu/article/tiktok-boosts-moderation-as-part-of-eu-antitrust-probe/[5] "EU Takes a Long, Hard Look at TikTok", The New York Times, December 17, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/style/tiktok-european-union-banning.html
- In response to concerns about disinformation and foreign interference, TikTok announced additional measures to safeguard the upcoming Romanian presidential elections, including enhancing content moderation, increasing the number of Romanian language experts, and adding more than 100 experts to their Romanian electoral task force.
- EU regulators have been closely investigating TikTok since last December, following the annulment of the initial round of voting in Romania's parliamentary elections by the Constitutional Court, amid allegations of foreign influence, particularly from Russia.
- The European Commission is examining TikTok to determine if it is in compliance with the Digital Services Act, which includes regulations on illegal content, transparent funding, and disinformation.
- The Romanian elections in November 2020 saw an unprecedented level of interference via social media, with intelligence reports suggesting that Russia covertly supported extremist candidate Călin Georgescu on TikTok, leading to his unexpected surge in popularity.
- In light of recent events and the growing impact of technology on war-and-conflicts, politics, general news, entertainment, and social-media platforms like TikTok, regulators are under increased pressure to ensure that digital platforms adhere to the EU's electoral security standards.
