EU opens formal probe into TikTok on election risks under DSA

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against TikTok for a suspected breach of the Digital Services Act in relation to TikTok’s obligation to properly assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity, notably in the context of the recent Romanian presidential elections on 24 November. Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “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. Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to tackle such risks. It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.” The proceedings will focus on management of risks to elections or civic discourse, linked to the following areas: TikTok’s recommender systems, notably the risks linked to the coordinated inauthentic manipulation or automated exploitation of the service. TikTok’s policies on political advertisements and paid-for political content. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. Publicly traded companies in the social media space that compete with TikTok include Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS), Reddit (RDDT) and Snap (SNAP).