Election in Germany

“Risk”: EU warns against hate speech on X and TikTok

Brussels accuses TikTok of using its algorithms to unilaterally promote the far-right, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu during the presidential election in Romania in November.

(Bild: Natee Meepian - stock.adobe.com)

A good two weeks before the German parliamentary elections, EU representatives are warning of the dangers posed by online platforms such as Elon Musk's X and Tiktok. With the help of the recommendation mechanisms on his platform, Musk is clearly ensuring "that users on X are unilaterally flooded with right-wing extremist content".

This is what MEP Alexandra Geese (Greens) says. She is not alone in calling the risk for the Bundestag elections "high". An EU Commission representative, who does not wish to be named, also speaks of a "dangerous situation" ahead of the election. However, the EU is not helpless and without weapons, she emphasized.

The Europeans' most powerful "weapon" is the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been in force since last year. The EU Commission in Brussels has initiated proceedings against X, Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok. Proven violations can result in high fines for the companies. Among other things, the DSA obliges companies to prevent election manipulation or delete hate messages that violate national laws.

MEP: X favors extreme parties
"All companies operating in the EU must comply with our laws, regardless of who owns them," says FDP MEP Svenja Hahn. She refers to the suspicion that the attitudes of Musk's Platform X "favor extreme parties and thus influence election campaigns".

Recommendation systems, known as algorithms, play a central role in the EU rules. They can show users certain content more frequently and thus distort public opinion. "There is a lack of understanding that Musk can manipulate the algorithms and that the most extreme opinions get much more attention on X than others," says Geese.

If the EU Commission finds evidence of this in the ongoing investigations against X, "then the Commission must force X to shut down these recommendation mechanisms", demands the Green politician. "Then people could once again decide for themselves what they want to see, and not Elon Musk."

EU Commission paralyzed by Trump's tariff threats
In Brussels, however, it is considered unlikely that President Ursula von der Leyen's Commission will act before the Bundestag elections. It is said that she does not want to get involved with the tech giants at the moment due to US President Donald Trump's tariff threats against Europe.

The video platform Tiktok from Chinese company Bytedance is also in the EU Commission's sights. Brussels accuses the platform of using algorithms to unilaterally promote the far-right, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu during the presidential election in Romania in November. Georgescu surprisingly won the first round of voting at the end of November. The Romanian Constitutional Court subsequently declared the election invalid - on suspicion of Russian interference.

Parallels to the election in Romania
The Commission expert emphasizes that the situation in Germany is not as risky as in Romania. However, it is also not as good as in Finland, which has much more experience with illegal election manipulation via the internet due to its proximity to Russia.

In Germany, the Federal Network Agency in Bonn monitors compliance with EU rules. It subjected the major platforms to a "stress test" before the general election. YouTube, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, Snapchat, Tiktok and X took part. The aim was to "minimize risks within the meaning of the Digital Act and to eliminate violations effectively and quickly", explained the network agency. However, the agency did not comment on how the platforms performed.

No action against Musk's election campaign interference
The EU has no action against other forms of interference - for example, when tech billionaire Musk appears at an AfD election campaign event or makes a gesture that many clearly consider to be a Hitler salute. This is covered by freedom of expression, as EU representatives emphasize.

Hahn, a member of the FDP, rejects calls for even stricter rules. "Instead of a sham debate about new laws, the focus must be on the consistent application of EU law," she emphasizes. The European digital law ensures that "content that is illegal offline also remains illegal online. This is not a restriction of freedom of expression, as populists often claim."