People’s Ombudsman Mihail Cotorobai is concerned about the risks posed by the adoption of the bill to amend and supplement the legislation to ensure information security and combat offenses involving the use of information technology in the current form. He said he supports the idea of remitting the bill to the Venice Commission for examination, which was suggested by NGOs, IPN reports.
In a press release, the Office of the People’s Ombudsman says that this bill, which can have a substantial impact on the freedom of expression and the respect for the private life, wasn’t submitted to the Office for appraisal. “The freedom of expression is one of the main characteristics of a democratic state. That’s why Mihail Cotorobai calls on the MPs to thoroughly and prudently examine any legislative initiative that can have as effect the limitation of this basic right,” says the communique.
The People’s Ombudsman also calls on the MPs to take into account the conditions defined in the special report by the UN, the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights. He recommends the authorities to examine the possibility of implementing modern methods used at international level to identity and hold accountable those who commit cybercrimes against the state security, including the information one, so as not to adopt restrictive measures that limit access to the Interne and that do not offer guarantees as regards the respect for the right to private life.
Mihail Cotorobai says the online space is already assimilated as a mass media means. By joining the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, Moldova pledged to ensure the freedom of expression and opinion. This right also includes the freedom to have opinions without interference from outside and the freedom to look for, receive and spread information and ideas in oral, written, printed, artistic or any other form.
The bill excludes the legislative shortcomings in the prevention and combating of offenses related to the use of information technology, in particular the online sexual child abuses. It aroused controversy in society, with civil society demanding that this should be appraised by the Venice Commission.
