EBU: Security system made JESC voting collapse

The access issues of the voting website during JESC2017 were caused by a security system. Spokespersons of EBU have confirmed this to ESCDaily in response to our editorial from earlier this week.

 The EBU used the security feature to ensure only one vote was counted from a single device.

In the editorial, chief editor Steef van Gorkum concludes that while EBU has succeeded to keep the voting procedure safe and fair, it did not succeed in preparing the website for the huge amount of online voters during the show. EBU now informs ESCDaily that one issue was in fact caused by the other.

Statement by EBU about online voting at JESC

After a thorough investigation into the Junior Eurovision Song Contest online voting platform we can confirm that the access issue for some users for a short time during the live final was caused by the security feature that was in place ensuring only one vote was counted from a single device.  Processing the huge number of votes cast took longer than could have been anticipated. And this meant some users could not access the voting platform.   

Whilst the situation is regrettable, the EBU takes the integrity of the voting system for its competitions very seriously. And we are confident, after this investigation, that the final result would not have altered had this issue not occurred. We are always looking at ways to engage our audience further. And the online vote showed that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has an audience outside the participating countries and those who are passionate about the outcome. We are committed to continually updating and improving procedures so that Junior Eurovision will grow and grow each year.

Testing for adult Eurovision

Last week, EBU’s Chief Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand confirmed to ESCDaily that the online voting procedure was a test. Potentially, this could lead to implementation of online voting at adult Eurovision in the future as well.

Immediately after his remarks, fans raised concerns about the security of online voting. In response, EBU stated that they had a security system in place. However, they were not willing to discuss how it worked exactly. EBU now adds that while they are happy their security system succeeded, they will work on improving the access issue to the website.

Such improvements are a necessity. If online voting ever comes to adult Eurovision, the voting website will need have a powerful security system, while at the same time being able to handle at least 20 times as many voters as during the JESC competition.