Moldovan parliament approves the bill banning Russian news broadcasts
On December 22, the Moldovan parliament voted again for the bill banning Russian propaganda, which the country's president, Igor Dodon had previously refused to sign, reported Noi.md news website.
Maxim Lebedinsky, the Moldovan president’s legal advisor said that this project is contrary to the Constitution and has nothing to do with ensuring the information security of the country. He also stated that the provisions of the document contradicted the European Convention on Human Rights.
"Shouldn’t we provide citizens with free access to information, regardless of where it comes from? Shouldn’t we consider every citizen to be an intelligent person, able to understand what kind of channel he is watching? We must let the citizen listen and watch what he wants," Lebedinsky said.
The new bill introduces into the Code the concept of "information security," which implies a set of measures aimed at protecting Moldovan citizens from misinformation and manipulations manufactured by other countries. Media that violate these provisions can be fined up to 70,000 lei or more than $4,000.
The Moldovan parliament had already passed this bill in two readings.