The Right to Free Elections in the TikTok Era: Towards Digital Expertise of the Venice Commission?

This article examines the challenges that algorithmic social media platforms pose to the protection of the right to free elections as guaranteed by Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Using the 2024 annulment of the Romanian presidential election as a case study, it argues that electoral law must evolve beyond traditional frameworks to address algorithmic manipulation, disinformation, and foreign interference. The paper contends that safeguarding electoral integrity requires regulating the architecture of algorithms rather than expression itself, in order to preserve both freedom of thought and democratic deliberation. It concludes by calling for the Venice Commission to develop a form of digital expertise capable of setting European standards for democracy in the algorithmic age.