EU says online platforms pose risks to society, kids, elections

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - Online platforms pose the main risks to elections, children, society, and the spread of illegal or harmful content in the EU, a European Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Thomas Regnier stressed that EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) places responsibility directly on online platforms to ensure compliance with bloc rules.

"Who can pose risk to our elections? It's online platforms. Who can pose risks to our kids? Online platforms. Who can amplify illegal, harmful content? Again, it's online platforms, and I can go on ... We want to use them, but they can clearly pose a risk to our citizens and to our societies," he said.

Regnier underlined that the European Commission never interferes in national elections in response to a report delivered by the US Congress Judiciary Committee, which alleges that the body has indirect involvement in the electoral process in Europe, including in Romania.

The EU executive can, however, organize roundtables with platforms when requested by national authorities, as was the case with TikTok in Romania. These discussions aim to ensure that algorithms do not amplify content from one political party over others, he added.

In December 2024, the European Union initiated formal proceedings against TikTok over concerns about election integrity and the platform's responsibilities during political campaigns.

On the ongoing TikTok investigation, Regnier said the platform has been "extremely cooperative" and has taken measures to comply with EU rules.

He emphasized that the DSA is a "powerful tool" to protect citizens and monitor platforms across Europe, and that liability falls on the platforms themselves, not individual CEOs.

"We are not attacking individuals with the DSA. We're looking at the platforms. So if the CEO indeed algorithmically promotes a political party and decreases the visibility of all the others, then he doesn't become liable. The platform becomes liable. So our focus is always, always, always on the platform," he said.

He added that X continues to engage with the EU Commission through its compliance team, and no procedural breaches have occurred, noting that the European Commission prioritizes dialogue but will act when necessary to protect the internal market.