Ad hoc Meeting of the European Board for Digital Services
On 6 December 2024, the European Board for Digital Services convened in an ad-hoc meeting to discuss the elections in Romania from a DSA perspective, in light of the declassified documents.
During this meeting, Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), the Commission, and observers discussed TikTok’s obligations under the DSA in the recent elections in Romania, in the context of the latest declassified documents on the subject.
The European Commission has been using its powers under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to ensure that it has the right information to monitor and assess TikTok’s compliance with its obligations on the basis, namely:
- Data retention order to TikTok covering EU national elections from 24 November 2024 until 31 March 2025, including the presidential elections in Romania, and
- Urgent information request to TikTok in light of the latest declassified information.
The Commission underlined TikTok’s obligation to ensure its moderation and amplification policies respect the DSA. It also pointed to Commission's guidance provided for in the DSA Election Guidelines.
The next regular Board meeting will take place online on 12 December.
Background
The DSA Election Guidelines stipulate that “Providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs should be aware of the applicable national election governance structure for the elections at hand and the role of various authorities. By gaining a good understanding of specific national procedures such as the delimitation of the electoral campaign periods, timing of the official designation of election candidates, and election silence periods, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs may design risk mitigation measures taking into account the specific aspects of the relevant Member State”.
In addition, the Election Guidelines stress the importance of close cooperation with national authorities prior and during the election periods.
Typically, national electoral silence periods regulate campaign communications by parties and candidates in elections. These laws apply thus typically to the individuals and should be enforced by national authorities against those involved in campaigning.
The DSA provides for the possibility for national authorities to issue orders to remove illegal content subject to national rules, as well as orders to obtain information from platforms on specific accounts.
The DSA fully entered into application as of 17 of February 2024, and now applies to all online intermediaries in the EU. It also created the obligation for Member States to appoint and empower, by that date, Digital Services Coordinators, which are independent regulators that work with the Commission to ensure the correct application of the DSA in their respective areas of competence.
The European Board for Digital Services is an independent advisory group, whose members are the Digital Services Coordinators of the Member States, that will ensure that the DSA is applied consistently across the EU and is consulted on the enforcement of the DSA.
For more information, visit the Digital Services Act policy page.
