TikTok denies that Georgescu was treated differently. “It is categorically false to claim his account was treated differently to any other candidate,” spokesperson Paolo Ganino said, adding the far-right winner was treated “in the same way as every other candidate on TikTok, and subject to exactly the same rules and restrictions.”
The company earlier denied it saw anything resembling foreign interference or misuse of its platform, with Ganino calling reports of potential election interference “highly speculative” and “inaccurate and misleading.”
Other observers have suggested that Georgescu simply followed the hard right’s conventional playbook that in the past year has seen populists beat governing centrists in countries from France to Austria and the United States, in part by sidestepping mainstream media and targeting voters with direct messaging on social media and other platforms.
Test case for Brussels
Taking the battle onto the European stage, the Romanian authorities are calling in European Union social media regulators for backup — and the case is now turning into a test of Brussels’ new regulatory powers over social media.
In 2022, the 27-country bloc passed the Digital Services Act (DSA), a powerful legal framework requiring online platforms to fight “systemic risks,” including disinformation and election interference.
The largest such platforms, like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, fall under the oversight of the European Commission. The EU executive has the power to fine non-compliant firms up to 6 percent of their global turnover — and even block an app across Europe.