A referral to Tiktok leads to controversy in the CNA. Mircea Toma: “Romania and Moldova are informally attacked by Russia”

Mircea Toma, a member of the National Audiovisual Council, states that Romania and the Republic of Moldova are countries that are informally attacked by Russia, a test being a campaign on Tiktok to influence the elections in the neighboring country, which aimed at Moldovans living in Romania, informs Agerpres.

“Both Romania and the Republic of Moldova are countries that are informally attacked by Russia. There are two countries that are targets of a war, in the own sense of the word, with the 'informational war' weapon. Under attack and we expect to find out about attack from non -governmental organizations, so we can react.

Toma reported, on Thursday, the National Audiovisual Council a material made by Expert Forum (EFOR) regarding the parliamentary elections of September 28 in the Republic of Moldova, in which the organization signaled the existence of unauthorized coordinated behavior “illegally from the point of view of the” Tiktok platform.

Following the debates, the CNA decided, at the proposal of the President of the Council, Valentin Jucan, sending a notification to Tiktok, based on Digital Services Act – DSA (regulation of the European Union that imposes new rules for digital services, including online platforms and search engines, to create a safer and more equitable online world), regarding the existence of an unauthorized behavior that can be influenced by an unauthorized behavior. Voters voting in Romania for parliamentarians in the Republic of Moldova.

Two distinct positions in CNA

A special position had the member of CNA Georgică Severin, who voted against the Council's decision.

“I invoked solid, legal and institutional reasons: 1. The lack of territorial competence of the CNA. According to the national legislation, the CNA has exclusively in the field of audiovisual on the territory of Romania. The Republic of Moldova is a sovereign and independent state, and the elections held there do not fall under the mandate of the CNA. (DSA) is applied in the Member States of the European Union. Moldova is equivalent to a direct, illegal and inopportune involvement, in the electoral process of a neighboring state, ”said Severin on his Facebook page.

Georgică Severin added that “despite these arguments, most decided not only to debate the material, but also to assume by the CNA, going to the request of the intervention of a social media platform that support a certain candidate in the future elections of the Republic of Moldova.”

“This decision represents, in my opinion, more than an abuse, both in form and on the merits. It represents an error! For this reason, I decided to withdraw from the meeting, not being part of a decision that exceeds the legal function of the Council and which risks involving the institution in an area of ​​political interference,” the CNA member, “

Expert Forum noticed the existence of “a coordinated network of 17 Tiktok accounts that contributed to increasing the candidate's promotion to the parliamentary elections Vasile Costiuc, only in the last week can be observed over 1 million views using #vasilecostiuc.”

“This is the phenomenon that is illegal from the point of view of the behavior of the platform. The platform should not accept it, should identify it alone and stop it. It does not see it and then the fact that it was identified by the non-governmental organization (Expert Forum-no), with their specialists, and that it was made public, we have caused us to react. It is on Romania.