Rather than being dismissed as a partisan document from Washington, the findings are increasingly being invoked across the continent as evidence that the European Commission has crossed the line from regulation into political intervention.

At the centre of the controversy is the alleged use of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA)—a law intended to regulate online platforms—as a means of shaping the electoral playing field. The report alleges that the European Commission pressured major social media companies to suppress lawful political speech ahead of elections.

The content targeted was not illegal but politically inconvenient. It included EU-critical commentary, scepticism about migration policy, criticism of gender ideology, so-called "populist" narratives, and even political satire. For critics, this amounts to ideological censorship carried out under a legal veneer.

Hungary fears Brussels playbook could be used again
In Hungary, where parliamentary elections are approaching, the report has been interpreted as a warning of tactics that could soon be deployed domestically. Balázs Orbán, political director to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has argued that the documents reveal a pattern of interference already applied elsewhere in Europe and now potentially poised to be replicated in Budapest.

Orbán argues that the report shows digital election interference is no longer theoretical but already documented elsewhere in Europe. The categories allegedly targeted—migration-critical content, opposition to gender ideology, and elite-critical narratives—closely mirror the political fault lines on which Hungary has long clashed with Brussels.

Hungary remains one of the few EU governments openly opposing escalation in the Ukraine war, rejecting new fiscal burdens on families, and resisting further centralisation of power in Brussels. Orbán has accused the EU establishment of seeking regime change, pointing to the active role of European People's Party president Manfred Weber in campaigning against the governing Fidesz–KDNP alliance and in favour of opposition forces aligned with Brussels.

For the Hungarian government, the conclusion is stark: digital censorship is no longer an exceptional response to illegal content, but a political instrument deployed when voters cannot be relied upon to deliver the "right" outcome.

Romania's annulled vote returns to centre stage

Romania has emerged as the most dramatic and controversial case cited by critics reacting to the report. The annulment of Romania's 2024 presidential election—after nationalist candidate C?lin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round—has long raised questions both domestically and abroad. The report has intensified those doubts, particularly among opposition figures.