Irish media regulator to jointly lead EU probe into TikTok

The commission has announced that it suspects the social-media platform, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, breached the Digital Services Act during a recent election in Romania. The act includes an obligation to assess and mitigate risks linked to election integrity.

Announcing the investigation, commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: “We have to protect our democracies from foreign interference. If we suspect a rule violation, we act.

“This is especially vital during democratic elections. We have received evidence of foreign actors potentially using TikTok to influence the Romanian presidential elections. We will now carefully investigate TikTok’s compliance with the Digital Services Act.

“In the EU all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable and live up to their obligations.”

This is the first time the European Commission has opened an investigation that involves a national regulator from the start.

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