State Department voices concerns about possible foreign interference in Romania’s elections, after a pro-Russia candidate, Calin Georgescu, reached the run-off.
EU officials issued a “retention order” under the Digital Services Act after documents declassified by Romania’s top security council on Dec. 4 suggested Georgescu had been promoted on TikTok through a series of coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms, and paid promotion.
The declassified files allege one TikTok user paid 362,000 euros ($381,000) to other users to promote Georgescu’s content.
The Romanian secret service said they had obtained information revealing an aggressive campaign to accelerate Georgescu’s popularity.
The State Department has voiced concerns about potential foreign interference in the first round of Romania’s presidential election on Nov. 24.
Georgescu, 62, is a self-styled outsider who says he will end Romanian aid to Ukraine and has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a true leader and patriot.
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He will face a pro-European centrist, Elena Lasconi, in the second and final round of the election on Nov. 8.
Having previously polled in single digits, Georgescu surged to victory after campaigning largely on TikTok.
He topped the poll in the first round and Marcel Ciolacu, the current prime minister from the ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD), came in third and was knocked out.
‘Malign Cyber Activity’
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it was concerned about reports of Russian influence in the Romanian electoral process.
“Romania’s hard-earned progress anchoring itself in the transatlantic community cannot be turned back by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania’s foreign policy away from its Western alliances,” it said. “Any such change would have serious negative impacts on U.S. security cooperation with Romania, while a decision to restrict foreign investment would discourage U.S. companies from continuing to invest in Romania.”
The European Commission has already asked TikTok twice for information on its recommendation systems related to elections.
It wants to know how TikTok manages risks from manipulation.
The Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in parliamentary elections on Dec. 1 but if they cobble together a coalition government it might have to work alongside Georgescu, if he wins.
Among his more controversial positions, Georgescu has described Ion Antonescu, who allied Romania with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the anti-Semitic Iron Guard in the 1940s, as national heroes.
Earlier this week, TikTok executives told a European parliament committee they had uncovered several election influence networks but defended the platform’s election integrity practices.
A Tiktok spokesperson said, “We have already been cooperating with the Commission and will continue to do so. We look forward to establishing the facts in light of some of the speculation and inaccurate reports we have seen.”
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
