TikTok defended its election integrity measures to European Union lawmakers after the platform took down several networks that tried to meddle in Romania’s elections, executives said Tuesday.
What Happened?
In a tense session before EU officials on Tuesday, TikTok executives revealed that the platform had dismantled several networks attempting to meddle ahead of the Romanian vote.
This comes after independent candidate Calin Georgescu, whose unexpected rise has roiled Romanian politics amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling, emerged as the frontrunner in the vote.
Among the networks that TikTok uncovered were two small groups. According to Brie Pegum, the platform’s global head of product, authenticity and transparency, both networks targeted Romanian users. One had only 1,781 followers and supported Georgescu, the other networks supported different candidates, Pegum told a committee on Tuesday.
Georgescu, an independent, surged to prominence after securing a stunning first-round victory over the incumbent prime minister.
Many observers point to Georgescu’s TikTok account—boasting over 5.8 million likes and 527,000 followers—as a driving force behind his success. However, questions have emerged over whether his popularity was genuinely earned or artificially amplified by external actors as EU officials hinted that he was given preferential treatment by TikTok.
Vadim Ghirda/AP
This controversy unfolds against the backdrop of Romania’s critical geopolitical position as an EU and NATO member sharing a border with Ukraine. The integrity of its elections has become a focal point for concerns over digital interference in democratic processes.
Georgescu will now face Elena Lasconi, a reformist candidate from the progressive Save Romania Union, in an upcoming runoff vote on Sunday.
What Has TikTok Said?
Caroline Greer, TikTok’s chief lobbyist for the EU, and Pegum faced tough questioning from EU lawmakers over the platform’s role in Romania’s elections and its adherence to the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act—a set of regulations aimed at shielding users from illegal and harmful content online.
Both Geer and Pegum defended TikTok’s response, stating that the platform applied its “global playbook” for the Romanian election and took a local approach, citing the deployment of 95 Romanian-speaking content moderators and collaboration with local fact-checkers and authorities.
However, lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction, including Dutch Member of the European Parliament Dirk Gotink.
“The feeling here is that we are losing patience…and that we need more specific answers,” Gotink said. He also questioned what the scores of Romanian content moderators were doing during the election and compared Pegum and Greer to firefighters TikTok sent to put out a fire.
“They come, they let the fire rage online for weeks, months, during an election. And then they send very nice people here into this committee to answer questions in a very polite way,” Gotink said. “But it is simply not convincing—and it also doesn’t reflect what is happening online.”
Meanwhile, according to a report from the Bucharest-based Expert Forum think tank, Georgescu’s TikTok account amassed nearly 93 million views in recent months with an additional 52 million views surging days before the election.
This comes as another TikTok account featuring Georgescu content, which had 1.7 million likes on the night first-round polls closed, was removed the day after voting.
In an emailed statement to The Associated Press on Monday, TikTok said the account was one of “more than 150 accounts impersonating Georgescu” to date that has been removed, adding “We also removed more than 650 additional impersonation accounts belonging to other candidates.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
