Platforms must not become the wild west of disinformation about politics ahead of key elections, says MEP Regina Doherty

The EU is to hold TikTok accountable for its handling of election content.

The European The Commission intends to formally verify how Chinese-the owned platform managed the risk of meddling in the elections, especially in Romania.

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Romanian the accused authorities TikTok of the “irregulars” after the shock victory of the far-right candidate Călin Georgescu in the first round of the presidential elections. Romania’s supreme court later annulled the elections.

It prompted EC President Ursula von der Leyen to give the green light to the investigation.

In Sunday’s Irish Sun, Dublin MEP Regina Doherty says the TikTok investigation should be a line in the sand for the future elections.

CANCELED ELECTION RESULTS

In recent weeks something extraordinary has happened in Europe. A national court has overturned election results in a democratic EU country and ordered a rerun.

The first round of the presidential elections in Romania appears to be subject to foreign interference and the deliberate spread of disinformation.

Voters in Romania were exposed to an avalanche of disinformation on TikTok and algorithms that seemed to increase the exposure of a pro-Russianextreme right candidate, Calin Georgescu. The Romanian courts duly intervened and new elections were held.

What do these actions mean for democracy in the EU, especially with German elections in february?

For years, commentators have discussed the risks that foreign interference poses to fair elections, particularly through online manipulation.

This is not a matter of freedom of expression, which should always remain a fundamental right.

This is about preventing the use of social media to promote illegal content offline, such as incitement to hate, subverting elections and misusing material.

At the beginning of this year, new EU rules for combating illegal activity on social networks – the Digital Services Act – came into force.

Under these rules, big platforms like TikTok have a duty to quickly remove illegal content, including content that seeks to undermine the integrity of elections. This clearly did not happen in Romania.

ANSWER TO QUESTIONS

Now, the European Commission has taken action by opening an investigation into TikTok’s response to the events in Romania. This is welcome.

It’s only fair that TikTok answers questions about its approach to political ads and paid political content.

The apparent manipulation that was seen in the Romanian elections on TikTok poses a threat to democracy and the integrity of elections if repeated.

With Germany, the EU’s largest country, having elections in two months, the investigation must be swift and any measures put in place in time.

If we see a repeating situation where fringe extremist candidates in Germany get a lot of exposure online, with the support of a large number of fake accounts and manipulation algorithmsthen the consequences for democracy and governance at the heart of Europe’s largest economy could be dire.

TikTok and everything else social media companies, must assume their responsibilities.

If this investigation finds that the Digital Services Act has been breached, then it is essential that appropriate action be taken immediately to avoid any future risk to the election.

The Commission has already ordered TikTok to retain all data related to any risks posed to electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU.

Our own Coimisiún na Meán was set up to monitor illegal online activity like this and to uphold Ireland’s Digital Services Act. I hope they will be proactive in this investigation and make sure the online space is not a Wild West. We owe it to the EU member states and our citizens.

This investigation has important implications for Ireland, given that we are home to many major global technology firms.

It is in everyone’s interest to show that we obey the law without fear or favor.

We know that malignant foreign actors, terrorist networks and unfriendly foreign governments are using social media to undermine democracy and cause disruption in the EU.

Last year, during Dublin riots, large-scale online incitement has not been quickly eliminated by Twitter, despite concerns expressed by our government.

Now is the time to show that our laws will be upheld for the good of voters in Ireland and across Europe.

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