TikTok executives questioned by EU over Romanian election concerns
TikTok executives were heard by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection in the European Parliament. Romanian authorities had previously urged the committee to investigate TikTok.
According to officials from the Audiovisual Council, the network’s algorithms favored Călin Georgescu. Company executives testified before Parliament that they adhere to transparency policies. Officially, TikTok does not permit paid political advertising. MEP Maria Grapini states that Bucharest requested information from TikTok, but the request was refused.
Last week, Romanian authorities met with TikTok’s executives at the European Commission.
“We have a regulation, and it applies to all platforms. We are not just talking about TikTok now; what we do not understand here in Romania is why you denied Romanian authorities access to relevant data. You said that political advertising is not part of the official platform policy on TikTok,” said Maria Grapini, MEP, Romania.
“We have held meetings with various authorities, including the electoral body and all political parties. We even hosted a Romanian government delegation at our Transparency and Accountability Center in Dublin last month. So, we have been in contact with the authorities and continue to collaborate with them. It is an ongoing situation,” said Caroline Geer, Head of Government Relations at TikTok.
“To uphold election integrity, it is crucial to safeguard the platform’s integrity, and as Caroline noted, we do not tolerate electoral disinformation. We also do not permit AI-generated political content. Therefore, we automatically detect AI-generated material. We have a long-standing policy that requires creators to clarify whether their content is AI-generated. So, if something potentially misleading arises, we closely monitor it,” said Brie Pegum, Global Director of Production, Authenticity, and Transparency at TikTok.
TikTok faces the risk of a fine amounting to six percent of its global revenue if the committee identifies violations. In cases of repeat offenses, the app could be banned within the union.
It should be noted that TikTok has been accused of favoring Călin Georgescu, a candidate in the Romanian presidential elections who received the most votes in the first round. Georgescu ran his campaign primarily on TikTok, claiming he did not spend any money on it. However, his posts are not labeled as electoral content, as stipulated by Romania’s electoral regulations.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
