Media non-governmental organizations are concerned about the restrictions imposed by the new regulation, titled “Civil Aeronautical Procedures and Instructions. Piloting Unmanned Flying Devices,” developed by the Civil Aeronautical Authority (AAC), and seek its revision. The document, which is currently under public review, proposes, among other things, to limit drone use, including for journalist goals. It contains both interpretable provisions, as well as vague statements, offering a large discretion margin for the officials who will apply this regulation in the future, mention the media NGOs and request public debates on the matter of this regulation, IPN reports.

In a signed statement, the organizations point out that the regulation proposes certain restrictions that are disproportionately large, unjustifiably so from a public perspective, with the potential of limiting the actions of journalists investigating cases of corruption or illicit enrichment by certain public officials.

“We ask the AAC to revise this document, taking into account the specifics of mass media work and amend it such that drones can be piloted without restrictions when used for journalism. Likewise, we request the annulment by the AAC of the obligation to obtain a drone piloting permit for journalists, as the procedure would take the responsible authority 10 days and thus would restrict access to quick information that journalists require in order to cover events of public interest,” says the statement.

The signers mention that the European Union also has general regulations on drone piloting, and that each member state has its own rules of use, yet none of these states is as restrictive in the use of drones for journalistic purposes.

The signers of the statement are: the Independent Journalism Center, the Association for Independent Press, the Association of Electronic Press, the Center for Investigative Journalism, the Press Freedom Committee, the Association of Independent Tele-journalists, the “Acces-info” Center and RISE Moldova.