Liliana Vitu on the Restriction of TikTok in Moldova: We Are Considering This Issue

According to the head of the CTR, “TikTok is an instrument of external interference in democratic and electoral processes.” Amid discussions in Romania about the possible banning of TikTok after the presidential election, where the platform played a crucial role in the surprise victory of candidate Calin Georgescu, Moldova is also considering the need to regulate TikTok before the 2025 parliamentary elections. Liliana Vitu, the chairwoman of the Council for Television and Radio (CTR), said on the programme that the issue is at the stage of expert discussion, jurnal.md reported. “TikTok is an app created by a foreign country that has been banned in that country itself from the very beginning. It is a tool of digital manipulation and has nothing to do with freedom of expression. You cannot equate a television station operating under license and strict regulation with an app clearly designed to manipulate. TikTok is an instrument of external interference in democratic and electoral processes. It is senseless to talk about freedom of expression in the context of TikTok,” Vitu emphasized. She also noted that TikTok is not interested in the transparency of its algorithms, adding that thousands of fake accounts were created on the platform and were actively used during the Romanian election campaign. Liliana Vitu emphasized the urgent need to implement the Regulation on Digital Services in the Moldovan legislation. “We have the Audiovisual Directive implemented, but the Regulation on Digital Services has not yet been adopted. According to information available, the first draft law has already been developed and is being discussed in the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization. Most likely, the process will now be accelerated. Legislative changes are needed first of all,” she said. Calin Georgescu’s victory in the first round of the Romanian elections is partly due to his sudden popularity on TikTok. Bucharest has already requested the European Commission to conduct an official investigation of the platform in accordance with EU regulations.