The concerns expressed by civil society about the bill to ensure information security and combat crimes involving the use of information technology are unfounded, lawyer of the International Center for Protection and Promotion of Women’s Rights “La Strada” Natalia Bayram said in the public debate “Real and nonexistent dangers to the basic human rights generated by the government’s intention to modify information technology regulations” that was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
The lawyer noted that she supports the bill because this will ensure the efficient protection of children against any form of abuse and sexual exploitation, including online. “Our life that was offline came online and the offenders use the methods offered by the Internet in a sophisticated way. That’s why this bill is vital and must be adopted in the final reading,” stated Natalia Bayram.
She made reference to a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights that, according to her, confirmed the importance of keeping the data from electronic communications, which is disputed by the opponents of the given legislative provisions. “The Court says that the keeping of data does not represent a violation of the private life. This does not represent violation of the basic right to personal data protection. These are necessary and useful for fighting terrorism and serious crimes,” said the lawyer.
Natalia Bayram also made reference to a statement by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which stipulates that the providers of telecommunications services are obliged to promptly react to the steps taken by the state to block websites or to restrict the access to particular webpages. “If these do not obey the legal decisions, the service providers can be held accountable as accomplices to these offenses,” she stated.
The April 4 debate is the 52nd of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged with the support of the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
