The European Commission has announced that it is stepping up its monitoring of TikTok's compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), amid concerns that the platform may have been used to interfere with Romania's presidential election. This move comes after an independent, far-right candidate, Călin Georgescu, surged to the lead in the first round of voting, with many attributing his success to an online propaganda campaign involving paid TikTok influencers.

The Commission's decision to increase its scrutiny of TikTok is based on allegations that the platform failed to prevent fake accounts from being used to artificially boost and algorithmically amplify Georgescu's content. This is seen as a violation of local election laws and raises concerns about the potential impact on democratic processes. As a very large online platform (VLOP) under the DSA, TikTok is expected to mitigate systemic risks, including threats to democratic processes.

The Commission already has an open investigation into TikTok's DSA compliance, which began in February and focuses on risk management concerns, including addictive design risks in the context of child safety. However, the bloc's scrutiny of TikTok is now expanding to include democratic risks, with the Commission issuing a "retention order" to the platform, ordering it to "freeze and preserve data related to actual or foreseeable systemic risks its service could pose on electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU."

The retention order covers national elections in the EU from November 24 to March 31, 2025, and is seen as an effort to push TikTok to do a better job of preventing abuse of its platform for the second round of the Romanian presidential election, which will take place on December 8. The order also requires TikTok to preserve internal documents and information regarding the design and functioning of its recommender systems, as well as its efforts to address the risk of intentional manipulation through coordinated inauthentic use of the service.

TikTok has faced criticism for its role in the Romanian election, with lawmakers in the European Parliament grilling the platform's global head of product, authenticity, and transparency, Brie Pegum, and its top EU lobbyist, Caroline Greer, over its efforts to prevent election interference. While the platform claims to have taken down several influence networks that attempted to meddle in the election, some of these groups were not removed until after the vote had taken place.

The Commission's action is seen as a clear warning to TikTok to improve its enforcement of its own rules, including its ban on coordinated inauthentic behavior and requirements for users to be transparent about the source of content. Failure to comply with the DSA could result in penalties of up to 6% of TikTok's global annual turnover.

In a statement, Henna Virkkunen, the new-in-post Commission EVP for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, said that the preservation order is a key step in helping investigators establish the facts and adds to the Commission's formal requests for information. Virkkunen also emphasized the EU's commitment to diligent and robust enforcement of the Digital Services Act.

TikTok has responded to the Commission's order, stating that it has already been cooperating with the Commission and will continue to do so. The company looks forward to establishing the facts in light of some of the speculation and inaccurate reports it has seen.

The EU's move to increase its scrutiny of TikTok is a significant development in the ongoing debate over the role of social media platforms in democratic processes. As the bloc continues to grapple with the challenges posed by online disinformation and election interference, the Commission's action serves as a clear warning to tech companies to take their responsibilities seriously and to prioritize the integrity of democratic processes.