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Brussels – TikTok representatives will be heard on Tuesday in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament, announced on Thursday MEP Dan Nica (Social Democratic Party, PSD), in the context of suspicions regarding a possible influence by the social network of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania.
“The digital environment must be safe, free from manipulations and interferences that affect civic discourse and democratic processes. Following my intervention yesterday (Wednesday – ed.) in the European Parliament, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) decided to organize an official hearing with TikTok representatives on Tuesday, December 3rd. The theme will be ‘Fulfilling TikTok’s obligations under the Digital Services Directive (DSA) in the context of recent developments’,” said Dan Nica on his Facebook page.
“The Digital Services Directive obliges large platforms to assess systemic risks and manage them responsibly so that electoral processes and civic discourse are protected. This hearing is an important step towards transparency and responsibility, a moment where we can hope for clear measures to protect democracy in Romania and Europe. One thing is very clear: democracy must never be for sale!” he added.
Dan Nica, the leader of the PSD delegation in the EP, requested, on Wednesday, in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the College of Commissioners to provide answers regarding “foreign entities” that “interfered” in the first round of the presidential elections in Romania.
On Thursday, at the daily press conference in Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed, in response to a question from journalists, that a “round table” will take place on Friday between Romanian authorities and TikTok representatives, organized by the EU executive, “given the current situation in Romania”.
He also stated that other platforms were invited to the meeting and that it is a “regular exercise” before elections. “It is a usual practice that we tend to do within the Digital Services Directive, because free and fair elections are at the center of our democracies,” the spokesperson added.
Romania has asked the European Commission to launch a formal investigation into TikTok, a social media platform with Chinese ownership, based on community social media rules.
On Thursday, in a statement sent to AGERPRES, TikTok representatives said that, so far, no evidence has been found of a “covert influence operation” on the platform in recent weeks related to the Romanian presidential elections, nor evidence of foreign influence. (29.11.2024)