The limited access to information and protection of personal data continue to be a hindrance to the work of journalists. Even if the national legislation in the field was harmonized with the Community acquis, the provisions of the documents are abusively interpreted by the authorities. The information of public interest remains classified. Every time reference is made to the protection of personal data, shows a study carried out by the Independent Journalism Center, quoted by IPN.
Jurist Tatiana Puiu, study author, told a roundtable meeting on May 16 that the Republic of Moldova aligned itself to the EU standards on personal data processing, but the authorities refuse to implement them. “The regulations clearly provide that the processing of personal data exclusively for journalistic purposes should be regarded as derogation from the law or exception. We consider it is necessary to transpose the EU provisions to the national system,” stated Tatiana Puiu.
According to the study, the protection of personal data and the freedom of expression and information in the Republic of Moldova are typical of a totalitarian regime. The access to public information is limited by monopolizing the mass media and subjecting them to full political control. Independent Journalism Center executive director Nadine Gogu said the authorities restrictively apply the provisions of the Law on Personal Data Protection when journalists ask for information of public interest.
“Some functionaries do not respond to access to information requests or often provide very general answers. During the last few years, many functionaries have made reference to the Law on Personal Data Protection and refused to offer information. This is definitely done to intimidate the journalists. We want such a practice to be abandoned,” stated Nadine Gogu.
Within the event, there was adopted a resolution with the reached conclusions. The resolution is to be submitted to Parliament so that this removes the shortcomings met in the work of journalists.
