Romanian telecoms regulator calls for TikTok suspension pending election probe

I request the suspension of TikTok on the territory of Romania until the completion of the investigation by state institutions regarding the manipulation of the electoral process of the first round of the presidential elections,

Pavel Popescu said

What I want, however, is to take a stance, not to kneel over there, not to take everything. Like I said, we should do everything in our national interest,

he said

For the machine it doesn’t matter if we are talking about a shoe, a politician, a personal brand or a commercial brand or maybe dangerous ideology. It’s the same. They have to close the transaction so we will see the same messages again and again until we are convinced that we have to buy or vote,

Stanca explained

Suddenly, TikTok users were faced with the TikTok system pushing more and more clips of this candidate into the feed, into the content recommendation area,

Valentin Jucan, vice-president of the Romanian Audiovisual Council, told Euronews Romania

Traian Băsescuformer President

This guy didn't meet with citizens, he didn't travel the country, he didn't campaign, only some AI manufactured messages to put him in the lead in the first round,

Basescu told Euronews Romania

Could you let me continue saying what I have to say? Please do not interrupt me."

After they pressed him for answers, Georgescu lashed back

Yes, I am not answering questions and i won't take any this evening,

he told the journalists gathered outside of his home in the affluent town of Izvorani, just outside the capital Bucharest

We believed that Tiktok was misused and was led to be misused by him and an army of fake accounts that were used for his purpose,

said Bogdan Manolea, executive director of the Romanian campaign group, Association for Technology and Internet

The Commission does not interfere in national elections and seeks to ensure within its competences a level playing field for all candidates,

Regnier said

It’s a system, I don’t know how legal it is, I understood how the system was used. The source of financing, in my opinion, is to be followed, ‘follow the money.'

Romanian

We are closely monitoring developments,

Regnier said

Emmanuel Macronfrench President

Romania is a warning bell: Radicalisation and disinformation can happen all over Europe with harmful consequences,

added Hayer, an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron

We call on the CEO of TikTok to come to speak in this house and to ensure his platform conducted to no infringement under the DSA,

said Valérie Hayer, head of the liberal Renew Europe group, told a press conference on Thursday, referring to the Digital Services Act, Europe’s rulebook for online content