Key Highlights:
- Poland has reportedly asked the European Commission to launch an investigation after a TikTok profile circulated AI video featuring young women advocating Poland’s EU exit, aka “Polexit.”
- The EC has confirmed that it received a letter with Polish goverment’s concerns.
- TikTok says that it took down the profile and videos, and is cooperating with Polish authorities in this matter.
These days, the internet is full of AI Slop, thanks to easily accessible AI audio/image/video generation tools. For those unfamiliar with the term, AI Slop is an internet slang used for low-quality, mass-produced AI content. Most social media platforms, including TikTok and others are filled with numerous nonsensical AI content.
If you use TikTok and live in the EU, you may have come across a bunch of AI-generated videos promoting Poland’s exit from the European Union. The videos in question were posted by a Polish-language TikTok profile called “Prawilne_Polki,” which featured young and attractive women promoting Poland’s EU exit “Polexit.”
Poland urges the European Commission to probe into TikTok for promoting “Polexit” AI-generated videos featuring young women
Well, the widely circulated TikTok videos have caught the attention of Polish authorities, which is why it has officially asked the European Commission to investigate TikTok. Poland alleges that the short-video platform promoted calls for the country to withdraw from the European Union.
The regulators raised concerns that the circulated AI-generated videos pose a serious risk to public order, information security, and democratic processes. The said AI content is also believed to be linked to Russian disinformation efforts. Poland’s deputy minister for digitalization, Dariusz Standerski, has confirmed the formal request, saying that he sent a letter to the Commission noting all the government’s concerns.
According to Polish authorities, the content appeared on a TikTok profile that featured videos of young women dressed in Polish national colors, encouraging viewers to support Poland’s exit from the EU. The profile grabbed everyone’s eyeballs in recent weeks before it mysteriously disappeared from the platform.
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Poland argues the ciculated content may have violated the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA)
Standerski said that the videos in question were based on synthetic, AI-generated audiovisual material. He argued that by allowing distribution of such materials , TikTok may have failed to meet its obligations under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Under the DSA, TikTok is listed as a Very Large Online Platform, or VLOP, which means it is also subject to stricter rules around risk assessment, content moderation, and systemic threats such as election interference and disinformation.
That’s not all; a spokesperson for the Polish government said the content was “almost certainly Russian disinformation,” noting that the analysis carried out for the recordings pointed towards Russian syntax. The allegation from the Polish government comes at a time when European governments are on high alert over foreign influence and propaganda, especially those that are changing the public opinion and undermining trust in democratic institutions.
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TikTok is reportedly working with Polish authorities
TikTok, in its response, has issued an statement to Reuters, saying that it has removed all such content and banned the profile, as it is cooperating with national authorities. The news agency also mentions that TikTok had been in contact with Polish officials and acted where content breached its policies. Meanwhile, the European Commission has confirmed that it has received Poland’s letter.
Speaking about the matter, a EC spokesperson said that under the DSA, very large platforms (in this case TikTok) are required to assess and mitigate risks arising from their services, including those linked to artificial intelligence. The spokesperson reportedly also added that last year, the Commission had already sent requests for information to several major platforms, including TikTok, asking how they address AI-related risks.
If the European Commission finds that TikTok breached the Digital Services Act, it could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, something that only time will tell.
