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General Prosecutor’s Office to Shut Down “Illegal” Websites with Help of Internet Providers

08 October 2013
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According to the General Prosecutor’s Office (GPO), last week it approved an action plan, providing for conclusion of “voluntary agreements” and conventions between public authorities and private Internet providers in Moldova in order to block or close “illegal websites.”
This measure aims to stop cybercrime and ensure alignment to European standards, which would speed up visa liberalization, claims the GPO. On the other hand, mass media representatives expressed their concern about these agreements, saying that they could limit freedom of expression in the Internet.

This provision is part of a joint action plan in the area of preventing and combating cybercrime, developed by the GPO, approved by interdepartmental order, and signed by 12 public institutions, including the Information and Security Service, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, and the State Enterprise “Center of Special Telecommunications,” as well as the National Bank, the Customs Service, and the State Agency for the Protection of Morality.

The Department of Information Technology and Cybercrime Investigation under the GPO shall be responsible for implementing the order, in collaboration with the representatives of investigation authorities.

The head of the Department of Information Technology, Veaceslav Soltan, said for Media Azi that negotiations are currently taking place with Internet providers to sign agreements on provision of information to authorities. Recommendations on conclusion of agreements are stipulated in the European Convention on Cybercrime, added Soltan. He also reminded that even now Internet providers are under the obligation to archive data about website traffic for cases when they might be used as evidence in investigations.

At the same time, the prosecutor underlined that such crimes are difficult to investigate, especially since the prosecution service employs about 700 prosecutors and only three IT specialists.

Veaceslav Soltan also explained the procedure of blocking a website that authorities find illegal: “Upon identification of crime in cyberspace, prosecutors ask domain administrators to change the content. If the latter fail to comply, prosecutors apply to court,” said prosecutor Soltan.
Anyone may refer to the prosecution service in connection with alleged illegal websites, added the prosecutor, and the content concerned shall be analyzed by the experts of one of the signatories of the joint plan (depending on competence), if a court allows. The experts’ conclusions and recommendations shall finally return to court, which then may decide on blocking or closing a website.

However, Tudor Darie, the co-founder of Unimedia, was skeptical towards these measures. “The information we currently have, namely the GPO’s announcement and the joint action plan, shows that the GPO will sign a number of agreements with Internet providers and will block the websites it considers illegal. There are, however, issues to be considered, since the criteria used to decide on blocking websites are unknown,” said Tudor Darie for Media Azi.

He added that if the GPO meant websites containing child pornography or terrorist organizations, it should have mentioned this fact clearly and transparently, but it preferred a vague wording.

“There are a lot of issues, and if they are not clarified, it would leave an open door for abuses by authorities, and such cases have happened in the past,” said Tudor Darie, reminding of the pressures that the GPO exercised in 2008-2009 on Unimedia for it to provide data about website visitors.

The manager added that these provisions could also affect social media: “If a single user commits a crime, will the entire website be blocked?” According to Darie, all international reports show a worsening of freedom in the Internet and an increased pressure of authorities, including on social media, and it is important to protect freedom of expression online. Media Azi reported on Friday about the alarming conclusions of the Freedom House report about freedom in the Internet, especially in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

The action plan adopted by the General Prosecutor’s Office was to be implemented over a period of two years, and it also provided for creation under the General Prosecutor of a national committee of response to cyber security incidents. Also, a database accessible to responsible authorities shall be organized, and it shall contain information on threats, vulnerabilities, cybercrime incidents (identified or reported), techniques and technologies used for attacks, and good practices for the protection of online platforms.