logo

Sergiu Turcanu: Moldova lags behind in ensuring online child protection


https://www.ipn.md/en/sergiu-turcanu-moldova-lags-behind-in-ensuring-online-child-protection-7967_1026476.html

Moldova lags behind in ensuring the protection of children from the noxious information available on the Internet. All the countries of Europe adjusted their legislation depending on the development of IT, but Moldova does not yet have a good law to this effect, head of the Law Division of the National Police Inspectorate Sergiu Turcan 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.

According to Sergiu Turcanu, a poll carried out in Moldova in 2011 shows that 10% of the children use the Internet unsupervised. Some 7% of those surveyed said they were offered to exchange obscene pictures and a part of these agreed to have private meetings. “We are in 2016. Do you think that this phenomenon is diminishing? The cybercrimes develop and the state must strengthen its capacities to react. Nobody will touch you if you are not suspected of child pornography or online child sexual abuse,” he stated, adding that the lawmakers specified the situations when the state can take special investigation measures in the form of interception.

Sergiu Turcan also said that the bill was drafted based on recommendations submitted earlier by representatives of civil society. “A priori, a bill cannot be promoted to someone’s detriment because it would be unconstitutional from the start and will fail the constitutionality test by the first attempt. The bill was formulated in strict compliance with the desiderata of the Law on Transparency in Decision-Making. It was a public bill or it wouldn’t have gone through the two appraisals that are important in a promotion process,” he stated.

As to the statements about the bill’s ambiguity made by other participants in the debate, Sergiu Turcanu said that its norms are typical for a regulated area. Moldova needs such a bill as the easiness by which they access the Internet in our country is very attractive for persons with deviant behavior from other countries.

The April 4 debate is the 52nd of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged with support from the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.