Macron urges EU to enhance content moderation ahead of upcoming elections
French security services have identified multiple cases of election interference, including from Russia, ahead of upcoming crucial municipal elections.
Emmanuel Macron calls for urgent updates to the Digital Services Act, emphasising the need for stringent measures against interference ahead of upcoming elections.
Brussels plans to enforce the Digital Services Act ahead of crucial elections in 2026 and 2027 to address foreign interference concerns.
Briefing summary
French security services reported cases of election meddling linked to Russia amid ongoing municipal elections, increasing concerns about interference ahead of the 2027 presidential polls in France.
Emmanuel Macron urged Ursula von der Leyen to update Digital Services Act guidelines, emphasising the need for stringent enforcement to mitigate systemic risks affecting electoral processes.
Investigations into suspected election interference have already been initiated, notably regarding Meta and TikTok’s roles in relation to the 2024 European Parliament elections.
Macron pushes for tougher EU digital rule enforcement ahead of key elections
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The call comes as concerns grow in France about potential election meddling before next year’s presidential race. French security services have identified several interference cases —including from Russia— during the ongoing municipal campaign, with the second round set for Sunday.
Eleven EU countries head to the polls in 2026, with further key elections in 2027 in France, Italy and Poland, where Eurosceptic parties are polling strongly.
Call for rapid EU action
Macron urged von der Leyen to update guidelines originally introduced ahead of the 2024 European elections, pressing platforms such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram’s X and Tik Tok to strengthen their efforts under the EU’s landmark content moderation framework, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
“It’s not about overhauling the DSA, it’s about ensuring it is fully enforced regarding the obligations placed on platforms—namely, assessing and mitigating systemic risks that could disrupt electoral processes,” a French official said.
“The Commission must be able, on the basis of reports it receives, to take all the measures allowed under the Digital Services Act (DSA), from injunctions and safeguard measures to sanctions,” the same official said.
Under the DSA, online platforms face fines of up to 6% of global annual revenue.
Probes have already been opened these last years into suspected interference, including against Meta ahead of the 2024 European Parliament vote and against TikTok over its handling of election-related risks during Romania’s November 2024 presidential election.
In Romania, concerns over TikTok’s role in the first-round win of ultranationalist and pro-Russian Călin Georgescu led in 2024 to the annulment of the vote after declassified intelligence documents indicated he may have benefited from coordinated accounts and algorithmic amplification on the platform.
According to Emmanuel Macron, Brussels and EU capitals must be “able to build a genuine complementary strike force, capable of rapid action,” to prevent such foreign interferences.