TikTok announced new measures on Thursday aimed at safeguarding Romania’s upcoming May elections, following the annulment of the previous vote by Romanian courts.
The tech company announced that it was launching an election centre as part of its efforts to safeguard the presidential elections scheduled for 4 and 18 May. The centre, accessible via the TikTok app, would be led by a task force composed of “experts in cybersecurity, deceptive practices, misinformation, and election integrity,” the platform said.
TikTok also stated that it intended to cooperate with national authorities and fact-checking organisations ahead of the elections to identify and report online content that violated its community guidelines. Additionally, the signatories of the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation, such as fact-checking organisations and civil society groups, triggered the Rapid Alert System, the company also confirmed. This would allow the Code’s signatories to flag disinformation and content that would affect the integrity of the elections directly to TikTok for removal.
The company has come under increased scrutiny since December under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), following a decision by Romanian courts to annul the national elections. The European Commission separately opened formal proceedings to assess whether TikTok had failed to protect the integrity of the elections, particularly in connection with its recommender systems and its policies on political advertising and paid political content.
In response to the annulled elections, the Romanian government announced that fresh elections would take place in May.
In March, the Romanian Digital Services Coordinator (ARCOM) conducted a “stress test” recommended under the DSA. Participants included major social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta, and X, alongside representatives from the European Commission and Romanian authorities. Civil society actors and academics were also invited. During the test, ARCOM assessed whether platforms had adequate safeguards to combat disinformation and reduce risks related to information manipulation. The results of the test are not publicly available.
As part of its broader efforts, TikTok also announced that it was launching a “media literacy campaign” in collaboration with Romanian media outlets. The campaign aimed to educate users ahead of the elections, allowing Romanian users to view in-app educational videos designed to help them recognise and understand disinformation.
(vp)