The EU is investigating TikTok over alleged Russian interference in the Romanian vote
Getty ImagesThe European Union’s executive branch has opened a formal investigation into TikTok because there are “serious indications” of foreign interference in the recent Romanian presidential election via the video-sharing platform.
The second-round vote was canceled earlier this month after declassified intelligence documents revealed that 25,000 TikTok accounts were suddenly activated weeks before the first-round vote began.
The reports supported independent candidate Calin Georgescu, a largely unknown far-right activist who called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “patriot and leader” despite denying he was a fan.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said democracies must be protected from foreign interference.
EU regulators will examine whether TikTok’s advertising policies and the systems it uses to recommend content to users violate the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to prevent the spread of disinformation and stop illegal activity online .
“Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, “We must act quickly and decisively,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
“It should be abundantly clear that in the EU all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.”
Georgescu’s campaign focused largely on TikTok, and although Moscow denied interference, Romanian intelligence said Russia had identified the NATO member state as an enemy state and a priority target.
TikToks promoting the candidate were not flagged as election content, which is illegal in Romania.
One account paid $381,000 (£300,000) for posts for Georgescu, who denied spending money on the platform himself.
TikTok has vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that “it is categorically false to claim that (Georgescu’s) account was treated differently than any other candidate’s account.”
Although the platform allows organic posting and sharing of election content, paid political advertising is prohibited.
After the runoff was canceled, TikTok said: “When the Romanian authorities contacted us to report a number of videos without identifiers, we took action against these videos within 24 hours.”
Part of the EU investigation will look at the risks associated with the “automatic exploitation” of TikTok’s algorithm, which serves tailored content on a user’s For You page according to their interests and interaction with the app .
It also evaluates TikTok’s policies on political advertising.
On December 5, the EU ordered TikTok to retain internal documents about how the company recommended content to users and what methods it had in place to curb “intentional manipulation” of its platform.
This includes content related to national elections in the EU between November 24, 2024 and March 31, 2025, including Romania, Ireland and Croatia.
The EU said it would carry out the investigation as a “priority”.
It comes alongside a separate investigation into TikTok’s possible violation of the DSA regarding harmful content and the protection of minors.
After the first round of Romania’s presidential election, Romanian intelligence said Georgescu’s sudden surge in popularity was due to a “highly organized” and “guerrilla” social media campaign, whose accounts sent identical messages.
Before the runoff election was canceled, he was in a neck-and-neck race with reform candidate Elena Lasconi.
Georgescu had called for an end to political and military aid to Ukraine.
He is a conspiracy theorist who does not believe in the moon landings or the Covid-19 pandemic.
