Online platforms participate in stress test ahead of German election

Online platforms Microsoft, TikTok, LinkedIn, Google, Snap, Meta and X will take part in a stress test on 31 January, to make sure they have appropriate risk mitigation measures in place ahead of the German election in February, a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed on Friday.

The test will run through potential scenarios and will be conducted at the request of the German authorities, the spokesperson added. 

On Friday, the same group of platforms will take part in a roundtable with the German Digital Services Coordinator and the Commission to discuss risks ahead of the vote on 23 February.

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which entered into force in August 2023, the largest online platforms are obliged to mitigate potential risks such as disinformation.

Recent developments, including the live interview in early January on X by the platform’s owner Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, led to questions about election interference and DSA compliance.

“Elections are a national matter; but we look at the systems that online platforms have put in place to make sure they take steps to mitigate risks,” the Commission said.  

Another recent development is the role of video platform TikTok in the Romanian election last November. In December the EU executive opened formal proceedings against the Chinese company, suspecting it of breaching the DSA by not adequately mitigating risks linked to the integrity of the country’s vote.

Călin Georgescu, an independent nationalist and Eurosceptic candidate won the first round, but the election was annulled after the Constitutional Court received evidence of Russian interference in the voting process, particularly on TikTok, as provided by the country’s intelligence services.