Elections and civil rights in the Balkans face AI manipulation, platform failures, and weak governance, highlighting urgent need for EU-level regulation.
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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]
Recent elections and digital activities across Southeast Europe have exposed the vulnerability of democratic safeguards to AI-driven manipulation and platform failures. In Romania, election integrity was questioned due to allegations of foreign interference, including AI-generated disinformation. Similar tactics, such as bot-driven harassment, were observed in other areas.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is highlighted as a key EU mechanism for holding major platforms accountable, with investigations launched in Romania. Conversely, other nations like Croatia and Albania have shown delays or failures in implementing such regulations, allowing unethical digital campaigns to proceed.
Beyond elections, AI misuse is a growing regional concern, facilitating fraud, impersonation, and sexual abuse, as seen in cases involving fake medical ads, voice cloning scams, and the circulation of non-consensual intimate imagery.
Furthermore, the text points to a legal divide, where major tech platforms reportedly provide different levels of data consent and protection to EU versus Western Balkan users. Accountability gaps are evident, as national regulators in some countries lack the capacity or independence to enforce regulations against global platforms.
Finally, the misuse of AI is not limited to external actors; governments are increasingly deploying surveillance technologies without clear legal safeguards, contrasting with the EU’s proactive legislation like the AI Act, which bans certain types of public biometric surveillance.
