Report. Canceling last year’s election does not have  » enough clarity  »

The cancellation of last year’s elections does not have « enough clarity », said the executive director of Association for Technology and Internet-Apti Romania, Bogdan Manolea, on Thursday, on the occasion of the report « Status of Democracy in 2024 and little of 2025 », made by the Coalition « NGOs for the citizen ».

« I do not think that we still have, at this moment, enough clarity on what happened and here I refer to at least three chesions: what the platforms did (…), we do not have any report of any authority in Romania, a public report (…) and what happened factually, » he said.

In this regard, he mentioned that the criminal prosecution is not public and the transparency report of Tiktok related to the presidential elections canceled in Romania is « the most detailed ».

He appealed to understanding the role of each institution and coordinating them.

At the same time, Manolea also referred to the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union.

« Before regulation, Romania had no mechanism to discuss or hold the big platforms where 90% of online communication is happening, » he said.

As for misinformation, he appealed to the authorities to understand « freedom of expression and where the limits are ».

« I am afraid when I hear that there will be so many authorities to take down content, because I saw that there are situations in which the authorities are very careful about their own problems (…).

For his part, ANCOM executive director, Călin Zvancea-Cozan, stressed that the DSA regulation does not refer to illegal content, but to the responsibility of platforms and to implementing measures meant to protect the online environment, the illegal content being defined by the national legislation.

In this regard, he stressed that « DSA will not be a panacea », and eliminating online information is not a solution.

« In order to combat the misinformation we will have to develop some antibodies in each of us, so that when we see information we ask ourselves if the information is real and how we do this. This issue is not done overnight, it is done by education, » the executive director of ANCOM said.

At the same time, he appreciated that many authorities must « do an update » to practices, policies, operational procedures and even legislation.

Moreover, he pleaded for a greater integration of the DSA in the legislation.

« The DSA comes and says that the regulation does not prejudice the criminal procedures or the investigation procedures. At the same time, the DSA mechanism must be organically integrated into the Criminal Procedure Code, » he said.

Călin Zvancea-Cozan supported the voluntary reports in the civil society to the big platforms on possible misinformation, to avoid the creation of a « Ministry of Truth ».

« This issue kept us in place, in a shadow, 50 years and we do not want to get there, » he said.

According to the report, 2024 « was a bad year for democracy. »

”He debuted (last year-no) in Romania under the auspices of a ‘super electoral’, a rarity in the national electoral system, where all four types of elections-local, European Parliament and presidential-were to overlap, an event that takes place every 20 years. Substantial, gradually eroded, culminating in what can be considered the greatest trauma of democracy in the last 30 years: the annulment of the presidential elections by the Constitutional Court. the document.

The chapters addressed in the report analyze: « The election year 2024: from enthusiasm to the trauma of democracy », « abuses and marginalization of critical voices », « Participation and transparency », « Digital rights », « Focus 2024: Women’s rights, LGBTQ+community rights. »

The report can be consulted online, on www.streademocratiei.ro.