On March 27, Romanian authorities will conduct a simulation exercise of a rapid response mechanism that would allow the fast reporting and removal of illegal and inauthentic content from social platforms in the context of the presidential elections in May, announced ANCOM President Valeriu Zgonea.
The mechanism was launched by the European Commission in case electoral law is violated on social media in member states where elections are held. A similar simulation was also carried out before the February elections in Germany.
‘On March 27, we will conduct an exercise in which the relevant authorities of the Romanian state, together with the European Commission and the platforms, will react to such scenarios. There are scenarios. And we are now waiting for our counterparts in Germany to convey to us lessons learned by them so that we might also be able to discuss with relevant authorities from the Romanian state. (…) The relevant authorities of the Romanian state, platforms, the European Commission, NGOs and the Permanent Electoral Authority, which transmits the BEC decisions to major platforms, are involved,’ said Valeriu Zgonea.
Moreover, the Government is working on an emergency ordinance that would provide authorities with more power to remove illegal online content, as a measure to protect the electoral process.
Social media ecosystem in Romania
In January 2025, there were 13 million active social media user identities in Romania, down 2.3% (about 300,000 users) compared to the beginning of last year, according to data issued by Kepios, which nevertheless warns about the accuracy of the data given the difficulties in identifying duplicate/fake accounts.
Regarding user demographics, data published in the ad planning tools of the main social media platforms indicates that, at the beginning of 2025, there were 11.6 million users aged 18 and over using social media in Romania, which represented 75.5% of the total population aged 18 and over.
„To provide additional context, it might be useful to point out that 73% of the entire Romanian internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in January 2025,” the company also states.
Over 55% of internet users in Romania can be reached through Facebook ads
Data published by Meta indicates that Facebook had 9.9 million users in Romania at the beginning of 2025.
Meta data indicates that the potential reach of Facebook ads in Romania increased by 850,000 (+9.4%) between January 2024 and January 2025. The same data shows that the number of users marketers were able to reach with Facebook ads in Romania decreased by 350,000 (-3.4%) between October 2024 and January 2025. In January 2025, Facebook advertising reach in Romania was equivalent to 55.6% of the local internet user base (regardless of age).
At the beginning of 2025, Instagram had 5.45 million users in Romania.
TikTok, second most popular platform in Romania
At the beginning of 2025, TikTok had 8.51 million users aged 18 and over in Romania.
At the beginning of the year, TikTok advertising coverage in Romania was equivalent to 47.7% of the local internet user base, regardless of age.
Data published in TikTok’s ad planning tools shows that the potential reach of TikTok ads in Romania decreased by 462,000* (-5.1%) between the beginning of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. On the other hand, figures indicate that the potential reach of TikTok ads in Romania increased by 402,000 (+5.0%) between October 2024 and January 2025.
***
Urmărește-ne pe Google News
