The social platform TikTok has removed 66 thousand accounts and 10 million fake followers since September. This was stated by Brie Pegum, global head of the social network, in a hearing in a European Parliament committee.
The accusations
After the first round of the presidential elections, the far-right and pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu, who obtained a relative majority by going to the run-off, was accused of incorrect use of TikTok during his election campaign. Accusations of social media manipulation and external interference even led the Romanian Constitutional Court to order a recount of the votes from which, however, no irregularities emerged.
Georgescu, an independent candidate, claims to have received no external help and to have run a zero-cost campaign based on the support of volunteers. Despite this, he managed to gather almost 300 thousand followers on TikTok, a social network which in Romania has 9 million users out of 19 million inhabitants. The rapid rise in Georgescu’s popularity has raised concerns, especially over TikTok’s algorithm which may have amplified content in his favor without transparency. TikTok has rejected the allegations as “inaccurate and misleading”, while Russia has denied any interference.
A report by the NGO Democracy Reporting International flagged irregular behavior, such as the creation of bot accounts to promote the candidate, while micro-influencers supported Georgescu indirectly without declaring that their content was sponsored, in violation of TikTok’s rules. The platform responded by saying it acted promptly when Romanian authorities reported undeclared political content.
The audition
“It is essential to have an authentic experience on the platform and that users know who they are interacting with. That is why we take this very, very seriously,” Pegum assured in the hearing. “In the last two weeks we have also removed almost a thousand accounts impersonating political candidates in Romania,” he added, underlining that the platform is always working to prevent misinformation.
“In September we discovered a network of 22 accounts originating from Romania and targeting a Romanian audience. Since then, we have shut down seven more repeat offender accounts who tried to return to the platform. And just on Friday last week we shut down two more very small networks within Romania, of 12 and 78 accounts respectively. One of these was linked to an investigation that was reported to us in October and which we concluded last week, for another candidate Clin Georgescu was one small network, with only 1781 followers,” concluded Pegum.
The regulation of social media
With the second round of elections scheduled for December 8, Georgescu’s rise underlines the growing power of digital platforms in shaping election campaigns. This case represents a challenge to new EU digital rules that require big tech companies to take measures to reduce the risks of manipulation in electoral processes. The European Commission could launch an investigation into TikTok’s compliance with these obligations, with consequences that could include large fines or even a ban on the platform in Europe.
In this regard, the president of the liberal Renew Europe group, Valerie Hatyer, asked the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to summon the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, to the European Chamber. “What happened in Romania is another wake-up call for us: disinformation can occur throughout Europe with very harmful consequences. Our reaction must be immediate and decisive, because the fight against disinformation is fundamental to protect citizens, preserving democratic values and ensuring informed decision-making cannot be undermined by social media algorithms,” Hayer wrote in a letter to Metsola.
“Should the investigations provide evidence of infringements or violations of TikTok’s obligation to assess and mitigate systemic risks related to electoral processes, the European Union should implement severe sanctions, without excluding a suspension or a total ban,” concludes Hayer in the missive.
