Poland urges Brussels to probe TikTok over AI-generated content

Poland has asked the European Commission to investigate TikTok after artificial intelligence-generated content calling for the country to leave the European Union appeared on the platform, which Warsaw says was likely Russian disinformation.

Poland has formally requested that the European Commission investigate TikTok after the platform hosted artificial intelligence-generated content calling for the country to withdraw from the European Union, the government said on Tuesday.

A TikTok profile featuring videos of young women dressed in Polish national colours and urging Poland to leave the EU gained significant attention in recent weeks before disappearing from the platform.

In a letter to the Commission, Deputy Digitalisation Minister Dariusz Standerski said the content posed a threat to public order, information security and the integrity of democratic processes in Poland and across the European Union.

He added that the narratives, distribution methods and use of synthetic audiovisual material suggested TikTok was failing to meet its obligations as a Very Large Online Platform under EU rules.

A Polish government spokesperson said the content was almost certainly Russian disinformation, citing the use of Russian syntax in the recordings.

TikTok said it had been in contact with Polish authorities and had removed content that violated its rules. The European Commission and the Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The move comes as EU member states step up efforts to counter foreign interference in elections and domestic politics, amid repeated warnings about Russian-sponsored disinformation, espionage and sabotage. Russia has denied interfering in foreign elections.

Last year, the Commission opened formal proceedings against TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, over concerns it failed to prevent election interference, particularly during Romania’s presidential vote in November 2024.

Poland has now called on the Commission to initiate proceedings under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires large online platforms to remove harmful content. Companies found in breach of the rules can face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.

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