The European Commission Wednesday issued a retention order to TikTok to preserve data on the Romanian election and for upcoming EU elections. Russian interference in the Romanian election is suspected. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The European Commission Wednesday issued a retention order to TikTok to preserve data on the Romanian election and for upcoming EU elections amid suspicion of Russian interference in the vote.
"We ordered TikTok today to freeze and preserve all data and evidence linked to the Romanian elections, but also for upcoming elections in the EU," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy in a statement. "This preservation order is a key step in helping investigators establish the facts and adds to our formal requests for information which seek information following the declassification of secret documents yesterday."
The commission has also stepped up monitoring of TikTok under the Digital Services Act. Data preservation was ordered in case the commission decides to investigate further.
"The order follows information received by the commission in the context of the ongoing Romanian elections, including recently declassified information pointing to foreign interference from Russia," the commission said in a statement. "At this stage, the commission is monitoring compliance and has no position on the question of whether TikTok may have infringed obligations under the DSA."
That order issued under the European Union's Digital Service Act requires TikTok to "preserve internal documents and information regarding the design and functioning of the app's recommender systems, as well as the way it addresses the risk of intentional manipulation through coordinated inauthentic use of the service."
The commission wants TikTok to specifically preserve any data regarding any systematic infringement the app's terms of service prohibiting the use of monetization features for political content promotion.
The European Board for Digital Services will meet Friday to determine how to respond to emerging evidence the commission said indicates "that accounts in other Member States have targeted the Romanian diaspora."
The evidence of possible Russian tampering in the Romanian election via TikTok is being shared with the informal Cyber Crisis Task Force.
The task force includes the European Commission, the EU cybersecurity agency ENISA and the European External Action Service, Europe's diplomatic service responsible for global security policy.
The commission said a Rapid Response System has also been activated for the Romanian elections by signatories to the Code of Practice on Disinformation.
"The Romanian-Bulgarian hub (BROD) of the European Digital Observatory -- which is also participating in the Rapid Response System -- has been monitoring the Romanian online ecosystem and has identified several disinformation narratives and tactics such as violation of electoral law, unmarked political content (including through influencers) and suspicion of coordinated inauthentic behavior," the Commission said in a statement.
The United States said it is "concerned" by declassified reports from Romanian intelligence agencies that claim Russian interference in the country's election.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, "We are concerned by the Romanian Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT)'s report of Russian involvement in malign cyber activity designed to influence the integrity of the Romanian electoral process."
