BUCHAREST, Dec 18: The European Commission initiated formal proceedings on Tuesday against social media firm TikTok over its suspected failure to limit election interference, particularly in the Romanian presidential vote last month, media reports said on Wednesday.
The European Union’s executive branch plans to investigate TikTok’s policy on political advertisements, paid-for content, as well as TikTok’s systems to generate recommendations and the risks of them being manipulated, BBC reported.
According to reports, the Commission on December 5 ordered TikTok to freeze data related to the Romanian election under the Digital Services Act, which regulates how the world’s biggest social media companies operate in Europe.
The formal proceedings will commence on Tuesday, allowing it to take additional enforcement measures and accept TikTok’s commitments. There is no specific deadline to complete proceedings.
China’s Bytedance-owned TikTok said it had protected the integrity of its platform through more than 150 elections worldwide and had provided the European Commission with extensive information on its efforts, the report said.
It added it did not accept paid political advertisements and proactively removed content violating its policies on misinformation and hate speech.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a new investigation into potential foreign interference in the Romanian presidential election.
“We must protect our democracies from any kind of foreign interference. Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we have to act swiftly and firmly,” she said in a statement.
The Commission is aware of the potential for interference in the upcoming German parliamentary election in February and the Croatian presidential election starting on December 29.
(UNI)
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