Poland has requested that the European Commission investigate TikTok following the appearance of AI-generated posts on the platform, including calls for the country to leave the European Union. The apparent disinformation was slammed by Polish authorities with its Deputy Minister for Digitalisation sounding the alarm.

Dariusz Standerski, Deputy Minister for Digitalisation, wrote to the Commission that the posts’ content, distribution methods, and use of AI-generated audio and video suggest TikTok is not fulfilling its responsibilities as a “very large online platform” under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

“The content poses a threat to public order, information security, and the integrity of democratic processes in Poland and across the European Union. The nature of the narrative, the methods of distribution, and the use of synthetic audiovisual material indicate that the platform is not fulfilling its obligations as a very large online platform (VLOP),” the minister wrote on X.

Intervention

The law obliges major social media platforms to monitor and remove harmful content such as hate speech, racism, and xenophobia, with noncompliance potentially leading to fines of up to six percent of a company’s global annual revenue.

TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, said it is in contact with Polish authorities and has removed content that violated its guidelines, but critics charge the poor response time and lack of proper oversight are nothing new: the platform has faced criticism worldwide for spreading disinformation, including hosting dangerous challenges, as well as encouraging smartphone dependency among minors. Several countries have restricted or banned the platform on government and public-sector devices over cybersecurity concerns.

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Well-documented path

Poland’s move comes amid growing EU efforts to prevent foreign interference in elections and local politics, fuelled by concerns about espionage and sabotage linked to Russia, which has been at war in Ukraine since 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied interfering in foreign elections.

Last year, the European Commission launched proceedings against TikTok over potential election interference during Romania’s presidential vote.