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Non-governmental media organisations are worried about the restrictions imposed by the new regulation entitled ‘Civil Aviation Procedures and Instructions. Operation of Pilotless Aircrafts’, developed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and demand for it to be revisited. The document that is now at the public consultations stage, provides, among other things, for the restricted use of drones, including for journalistic purposes. It contains both ambiguous provisions, and vague wording, which give the officials who will apply this regulation plenty of room for manoeuvre.
In addition, some of the restrictions provided for are disproportionately large and unjustified from the point of view of public interest, which could set limits for how far journalists can go in investigating corruption cases or illegally acquired wealth by government officials.
We urge the CAA to revisit this document, keeping in mind the specificities of media activity, and to amend it in a way as to allow using drones for journalistic purposes without any restrictions whatsoever. We also request that the journalists’ obligation to get a CAA approval be cancelled because the 10-day long period that the competent authority needs to make a decision on the matter restricts access to well-timed information that the journalist needs when covering events of public interest.
Note that the European Union also regulates the use drones in general, while each Member State has its own usage rules regarding drones, but in none of these countries does the legal framework contain that drastic restrictions regarding the use of drones for journalistic purposes.
To improve the draft regulation, we appeal to the authors to hold public debates on this matter, ensuring enough openness and transparency so that the mass-media and specialised NGOs representatives could actually participate.
Independent Journalism Center
Association of Independent Press
Association of Electronic Press
Center for Investigative Journalism
Press Freedom Committee
Association of Independent TV Journalists
‘Access-Info’ Center
RISE Moldova
