The social network TikTok poses a serious threat to future electoral processes in Europe, which was best demonstrated during the recent presidential elections in Romania.
This was assessed by the Digital Forensic Center (DFC) in the analysis "Young and (mis)informed: The growing influence of TikTok in electoral processes".
They also say that a special problem is the "lack of awareness of these threats in Montenegro", saying that, despite the rapid growth of TikTok users in the country and the potential for abuse of the platform for political purposes, institutions and society are not adequately prepared to respond to the challenges of the digital age.
"Social networks have long since become the biggest source of information manipulation, and therefore a tool for controlling public opinion, especially in the context of political and electoral processes. Platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok provide a fast and unhindered channel for spreading propaganda, misleading narratives and coordinated disinformation campaigns. Foreign actors, including states and organizations, use networks to influence public opinion and polarize society. Algorithms that favor sensational content and serve users in in accordance with their already formed attitudes, they further increase the impact of destructive information," the analysis reads.
They said that such phenomena have a significant potential to destabilize political processes, undermine trust in institutions and threaten national security.
"The addictive nature of TikTok"
DFC reminds that TikTok is a social network of the Chinese company Bytdens (ByteDance), focused on short video clips that last from 15 seconds to three minutes.
"That brevity makes it easy for users to consume a large amount of content in a short period of time. The constant stream of short information can lead to compulsive browsing behavior. Overall, TikTok's addictive character stems from a combination of personalized content, short videos, interactive features, simple design and accessibility. Those factors make the platform powerful in attracting and retaining the attention of users.This has also been noticed by other companies such as YouTube (YouTube) or Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram). have introduced short video formats along the lines of TikTok. This contrasts with the Chinese version of the app, Doujin (Douyin). Unlike the app in other countries, Doujin prohibits user posts, personalizes the feed with content from the fields of science, literature and art, while limiting children's use of the app to 40 minutes per day," the DFC said.
The data shows, they add, that TikTok has more than a billion users.
"Indicators from the platform's self-advertising tools reveal that advertisers can reach over 1.092 billion users over the age of 18. Because the company publishes audience data for advertising only to users over the age of 18, the actual reach of TikTok's audience is likely higher than the figures shown. TikTok enables targeting with paid campaigns of users over 13 years old."
DFC writes that reports published in the advertising resources of the company ByteDance show that TikTok had 2024 users over the age of 286.000 in Montenegro at the beginning of 18. TikTok is also the fastest growing social network in our country in terms of usage.
For the sake of comparison, as written in the analysis, there are only 77.500 users of Iks (X, formerly Twitter) in Montenegro.
Privacy Policy
The DFC points out that security issues related to TikTok relate to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information of users of that platform.
"The app's data collection methods allow access to a large amount of content on devices. The company collects sensitive data about users even when they don't save or share content. This raises concerns on two fronts: privacy and cybersecurity."
What data does TikTok collect?
The DFC also points to unclear data retention policies.
"Length of retention: The policy does not always provide clear timeframes for how long data is retained, creating uncertainty as to whether user information can be retained indefinitely."
"Deletion Requests: Although users can request deletion, it is not always clear how quickly and completely data is removed or whether some data must be retained for legal or operational needs."
They said that, in addition to the volume of data that TikTok collects, an additional problem is the Chinese company's ownership of the platform.
"There is no direct evidence that TikTok shares this data with the Chinese government. However, the existence of the 2017 National Security Law of the People's Republic of China obliges TikTok to hand over the data if requested. Although TikTok claims that all user data is stored in the United States and Singapore , TikTok's parent company's servers are located in China, and the app itself contains references to China-based infrastructure."
It is also recalled that NATO and the EU have prohibited personnel from downloading the TikTok application to official devices for security reasons. Canada has done the same, while in the United States of America there is currently a legal battle that may result in a complete ban on TikTok in that country.
Tik Tok influencer operations
Influencer operations on TikTok are effective because the platform gathers a huge number of young users who are more open to viral trends and visual content, DFC notes.
"With an algorithmic recommendation system, political and ideological messages can quickly spread, providing a wide audience in a short period of time. TikTok encourages engagement through interaction and creating your own versions of viral videos, which easily creates a chain reaction of propagating a certain narrative. All this facilitates manipulation, and the lack of adequate controls on the authenticity of content further favors disinformation campaigns.TikTok has become a significant source for media and news in the United States.According to the Pew Research Center, 10% of Americans say they regularly follow the news on to TikTok, which is more than triple the 3% from 2020. Additionally, 26% of American adults under the age of 30 indicated that they get information through the app."
They also point out that there are accounts on TikTok operated by propaganda branches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which have amassed millions of followers and tens of millions of views, mostly posting divisive content about American politics. That included criticism of candidates from both major political parties ahead of the 2022 election.
It was also confirmed that the platform censors content that is not in line with the interests and policies of the Chinese Communist Party. The company instructs its moderators to remove any objectionable content related to topics sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, including Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence or protests in Hong Kong.
"The most serious example of the misuse of TikTok was seen in Romania during the December 2024 presidential election. The far-right and pro-Russian candidate, Kalin Đorđescu, achieved unexpected success in the first round of the election, which was partially attributed to his intense campaigning on TikTok. Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of presidential elections due to suspicions of manipulation and interference from abroad, especially from Russia," DFC writes in the analysis.
The TikTok campaign that Djordescu benefited from is said to be similar to Kremlin-led influence operations in Moldova and Ukraine.
"Various methods were used to promote Djordescu on TikTok, including coordinated accounts, algorithms to track his presence on the platform, and paid promotion. Paid influencers, along with members of extremist, right-wing groups and people associated with organized crime, promoted Djordescu's candidacy online. "
On December 4, Romania's National Defense Council (CSAT) declassified documents revealing that Romania was the target of "aggressive hybrid Russian action" during the presidential election. The document showed that during the first round of presidential elections, various coordinated actions were carried out, most likely directed by an unnamed "state actor".
"Declassified intelligence documents revealed about 25.000 TikTok accounts that were suddenly activated in the weeks before the presidential election and were directly linked to the campaign of Kalin Djordescu. About 800 accounts had existed since 2016, but had little activity until November 2024. Each account had a unique IP address, and a group created on the Telegram communication platform was tasked with coordinating activities on TikTok promoted the candidate were not labeled as election content, which is illegal in Romania very good digital marketing company, who knew how to get around TikTok's rules. In the same period, Romania also faced over 85.000 cyber attacks coming from 33 countries with the aim of jeopardizing the electoral process," writes the DFC.
They also remind that on December 5, based on the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Union ordered the social platform TikTok to freeze all data in order to preserve evidence "related to real or foreseeable systemic risks that its services could pose to electoral processes and civil discourse in the European Union."
TikTok said it had removed a network of accounts that supported Djordescu, saying they had taken measures against misinformation and that subsequently, on December 17, the European Union launched an official investigation into whether TikTok violated the Digital Services Act by failing to prevent risks.
"To preserve the democratic stability of Montenegro"
The DFC concludes that TikTok poses a serious threat to future electoral processes in Europe, "which was best demonstrated during the recent presidential elections in Romania."
"The combination of massive use of the platform, its algorithmic favoritism of content, as well as misuse to carry out coordinated disinformation campaigns, opens up space for manipulating public opinion and endangering democratic processes. Such campaigns can directly influence political outcomes by using a young and impressionable audience, while weak regulation allows foreign actors and propaganda machinery to operate unhindered."
They also say that a special problem is the "lack of awareness of these threats in Montenegro".
"Despite the rapid growth of TikTok users in the country and the potential for abuse of the platform for political purposes, institutions and society are not adequately prepared to respond to the challenges of the digital age. Educating the population, establishing regulatory mechanisms and strengthening the capacity to monitor digital platforms are key steps to reduce the risk of destabilizing electoral processes and preserved the democratic stability of Montenegro and the region," the analysis reads.
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