TikTok defends its record as European Commission launches probe

TikTok has hit back at the European Commission after the body opened formal proceedings against the social media firm over allegations that it failed to limit election interference.

The Commission said it will request information and look into TikTok's policy on political advertisements and paid-for political content as well as TikTok's "recommender systems" - which uses data to suggest to users content they might like.

The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps.

China's Bytedance-owned TikTok said it had protected the integrity of its platform through more than 150 elections worldwide and had provided the European Commission with extensive information on its efforts.

Tiktok added it did not accept paid political advertisements and proactively removed content violating its policies on misinformation and hate speech.

The Commission ordered TikTok on December 5 to freeze data linked to the Romanian elections under the bloc's sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates how the world's biggest social media companies operate in Europe.

Romania's top court subsequently annulled the presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling and the victory of pro-Russia ultranationalist Calin Georgescu in the first round.

TikTok has "categorically" denied allegations by Romanian authorities which accused it of granting "preferential treatment" to Georgescu. "It is categorically false to claim that his account was treated differently from those of other candidates," a spokesperson said.

The European executive, which acts as the EU's digital watchdog under the DSA, stressed that the opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome and there is no deadline for the probe's completion.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new investigation followed serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential election.

This is the third investigation the Commission has launched against TikTok under the DSA, both related to risks for minors. One has been closed after TikTok committed to remove TikTok Lite Rewards from the EU.

In a statement on Tuesday, Tiktok said: "We remain steadfast in our commitment to protect the integrity of our platform…We updated our in-app Election Center to directly link to the Electoral Commission's website so it's even easier for people to access authoritative election information. 

"In line with media literacy best practices, we also added a reminder to verify the accuracy of election information people see online and off. We continue to relentlessly pursue deceptive behavior and have disrupted.....covert influence networks, which will be reported with further details in our December covert influence operations transparency report."

The company listed networks of accounts operated from Romania, Moldova and Türkiye. "We're continuing to investigate these and may take continued action against them," it declared.

The firm said it also proactively prevented millions of fake likes and follow requests from Romania and had blocked more than 30,000 spam accounts from being created there.