On 20 October, Moldova will hold their presidential elections and a referendum on whether the Moldovan citizens’ wish for EU membership should be enshrined in its constitution. In times of elections, online platforms play an important role in facilitating civic discourse and providing information to citizens. At the same time, there is growing evidence that online platforms can be an important vector for foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and disinformation campaigns.
In response to these challenges, the Commission is prioritising its support for EU candidate countries, including Moldova, in aligning national legislation with the Digital Services Act (DSA) as part of the EU accession process. This is done through an ongoing Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) project on DSA alignment that is available to all EU candidate countries. In response to requests for further assistance, the Commission also provides Moldova and Ukraine with additional support through the EU4Digital Initiative to accelerate alignment with this key piece of the EU’s digital acquis.
On 19 September 2024, Commission staff and Moldovan authorities conducted a threat assessment and election readiness exercise with online platforms in Chisinau. As part of the 11th Meeting of the EU Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management in Moldova, focused on “Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference”, representatives from Google, Meta, and TikTok voluntarily participated in the exercise alongside Moldovan civil society organizations, fact-checkers, and independent media. Together, they conducted a thorough analysis of key online threats to the integrity of the upcoming elections and simulated collective responses to potential threat scenarios, building on the lessons learned from the stress test with online platforms ahead of the European elections.
The meeting allowed the Commission and representatives from the French and Romanian Digital Services Coordinators to present their experience with information integrity preparedness around the European elections. Participants discussed the lessons learnt from the European elections, how they can be applied in Moldova and how existing efforts on all sides can be improved to effectively mitigate risks to the integrity of the information environment while safeguarding fundamental rights, in particular the rights to freedom of expression and information.
At the occasion of the Hub Meeting, four major online platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, and Microsoft) agreed to set up a temporary escalation mechanism with the relevant European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) hub (BROD) with its fact-checking expertise in the Moldovan informational ecosystem. The mechanism is inspired by the multi-stakeholder cooperation in the EU under the Code of Practice on Disinformation, including during the EP elections, and will facilitate the flagging of time-sensitive content that present threats to the integrity of the electoral process in Moldova. It was further agreed that the European Digital Media Observatory, through BROD, will conduct a dedicated monitoring during the electoral period in Moldova.
Source – EU Commission – Digital Strategy