Media outlets and companies that own social networking sites and content-sharing platforms will be monitored more intensely. If they distribute disinformation and manipulation, the authorities will intervene. Also, the legislation will be amended to speed up the examination in court of cases concerning political and electoral corruption, and the involvement of religious denominations in politics and election campaigns will be limited. This is provided in a decision that was adopted by the Parliament on Thursday following hearings on the subject of elections, IPN reports.

Veronica Roșca, chairwoman of the Parliament’s commission on legal affairs, appointments and immunities, said it is found that this year's presidential election and constitutional referendum were affected by illegal financing and corruption of voters in particularly large proportions.

It was also noted the promotion of an extensive campaign of mass disinformation and hybrid information warfare, financed from external sources, as well as the involvement of religious denominations in the election campaign. Also, personal data were collected illegally for being used in criminal activities, etc.

The Center for Strategic Communication and Countering Disinformation is asked to intensify the monitoring of media outlets and technology companies that own social networking sites and content-sharing platforms, and to identify legal technical tools to eliminate disinformation and manipulations, including foreign interference that threatens national security.

The Parliament and the Government urgently need to amend the legal framework in order to optimize the instruments on cases of electoral corruption crimes. Thus, the criminal, contravention framework, the legislation on special investigative measures, the law on political parties, the Electoral Code are to be modified. The amendments must ensure the examination by courts of law of cases that undermine democratic processes, those regarding the illegal financing of parties and election campaigns, as a matter of priority, including by setting court hearings on consecutive days.

MPs’ recommendations refer to the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Superior Council of Prosecutors. The two bodies are to formulate proposals for establishing a mechanism to identify and examine cases of political and electoral corruption as a priority and in an accelerated regime, in specialized prosecutors' offices and courts.

It was also decided that the responsible authorities, including the law enforcement and electoral institutions, should report monthly on the actions taken to combat illegal political financing and electoral corruption to the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities and the commission for national security, defense and public order.