Cabinet approves draft law strengthening Moldova's information security

Chisinau, 19 July /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet of ministers today approved a draft law on the change of the Audiovisual Code; the document provides for strengthening Moldova’s information security.  

The draft law, submitted by a group of MPs, implies the defence of information space and ensures a European standard of presenting the political information.  

The document allows radio and TV broadcasters issuing only information and analytical programmes, news and informative, informative and analytical, military and political programmes produced in the EU member states, the USA, Canada, as well as in other states which ratified the European Convention on Cross-Border Television. Yet, the broadcasting of TV and radio programmes with the same content also from other states is not banned, the government’s note reads. The goal of the draft is “to limit the broadcasting of the programmes of this kind, produced in the states which do not meet the international standards and rigours, as well as from the states which are not parties to the European Convention on Cross-Border Television.”   

The initiative also sees sanctions for the radio and TV broadcasters which violate the provisions of the article on the broadcasting and re-broadcasting of the concerned programmes from other countries. Yet, the government considers that pecuniary sanctions seen “are too high and do not seem to be proportional to the infringements for which they are planned to be applied.” One should not apply “the same sanction both against the broadcasters which broadcast provocative and manipulating information and against the broadcasters which do not broadcast such information, but the latter is produced in a banned jurisdiction.”  

More analyses and reports have been in the last years, including by the Soros Foundation and Independent Press Association, which prove that there is a pronounced tendency of propaganda and misinforming, including from Russia, which endangers Moldova’s security.    

The draft law will be submitted to parliament for consideration.

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor M. Jantovan)