Germany’s Federal Network Agency is “well prepared” to respond to online interference in the country’s Feb. 23 parliamentary election, the agency’s president Klaus Müller said following a stress test with social media platforms on Friday.
“Today we realistically simulated possible infringements, tested the platforms’ reporting procedures and mechanisms and practised action and the relevant exchange of information,” he said in a statement. “We are well prepared, with tasks assigned to the national authorities and communication paths to all relevant players in place.”
It is the first such stress test for a national election under the EU’s new social media rulebook, the Digital Services Act, although the European Commission hosted a similar exercise ahead of the European election in June 2024.
Concerns are high over possible foreign election interference through social media disinformation in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is currently polling in second place.
In December, the Romanian presidential election was canceled amid warnings of Russian influence via TikTok after ultranationalist Călin Georgescu came from behind to win the first round.
The heightened alarm is also due to new evidence of various types of foreign interference in Germany’s information landscape.
X owner Elon Musk’s public endorsement of the AfD has only poured oil on the fire. The German Parliament’s administration is investigating Musk’s amplification of the AfD as an illegal donation, according to German media.
The Digital Services Act requires very large online platforms — defined as those with over 45 million monthly active users in the EU — to identify and, if possible, mitigate risks coming from their services, including risks to electoral processes.
Friday’s test was jointly hosted by the Commission and the Federal Network Agency, with attendees including YouTube parent Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X, as well as representatives from national authorities and civil society.
“The exercise, known as a stress test, featured several fictitious scenarios whose aim is to identify and reduce potential risks related to the elections, as defined under the Digital Services Act,” the European Commission said in a press release.
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