COORDINATING COUNCIL OF AUDIOVISUAL REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA New Media- Its impact on broadcasting- The perspectives of National Regulatory Authorities The 4th Annual Meeting of BRAF 5-6 September 2013 Kiev, Ukraine 1

The Internet in the Republic of Moldova Regulation of the on-line audiovisual content The Internet and mobile platforms are only subject to regulation in Moldova when it comes to general provisions that apply to all types of news/content delivery. The Criminal Code, the Civil Code, the Law on Freedom of Expression, the Law on the Protection of Personal Data, and special laws referring to protection from extremism or terrorism do not di erentiate between the means of distribution of information. Article 20, the paragraph 3 of the Law on Electronic Communications requires the site owners to provide the IP addresses of visitors upon the request of law enforcement authorities (the law does not specify a concrete institution). This provision of the Law allows the authorities to nd and, consequently, arrest any person that has placed posts, which are deemed illegal according to the Moldovan legislation (e.g. hate speech, instigation to violence). The Coordinating Council of Audiovisual does not regulate the Internet and the on-line audiovisual content. 2

Online At the end of 2012 there were around 1,543,700 Internet users in Moldova, with the overall population of 3,559,500 this means that the penetration level is 43%. The new media has started developing intensely in Moldova during recent years. Despite this, the Internet is the main source of information for 15 % of the population and is considered the most reliable source of information. The number of Internet users continues to increase rapidly. According to a survey elaborated in April 2013, 42% of the population uses the internet on a daily basis. 3

About Internet The broadband Internet penetration reported to 100 users accounted in April 2013 to 48 %, while the dial-up connections reduced and reached only 3% (the tendency is explained by the increasing number of services of high speed Internet access). In 2012 there were 53 registered ISPs in the country with the majority being local or regional, with only a few offering their services throughout the country. Moldtelecom and StarNet are the country's leading providers sharing around 88% of the market. The remaining 12% are shared between other ISPs like Orange Moldova, SunCommunications, Arax Communications, IDC, Moldcell and others. Dial-Up is available throughout the country and is provided by Moldtelecom. 4

Wi-Fi Internet StarNet has the largest metropolitan Wi-Fi network in the country. Coverage area includes most of the central streets in Chişin ă u and residential districts as well as parks and other public recreational places. The company offers paid and free access to its network, free access having limitations on time of use. Orange has the second largest metropolitan Wi-Fi network in the country. Coverage area includes most of Chişin ă u's mass transit areas and buss stops. Network access is limited to Orange subscribers only. Aside from StarNet and Orange there are many other local free Wi-Fi networks hosted by cafés, shops and fast food restaurants. 5

New media The process of iReporting became popular in Moldova, as media consumers were o ered a chance to record audio or video and post it on the internet, delivering potentially top news to television channels, radio stations, or print media in Moldova. At the same time, audiovisual content on the internet enhanced the appeal of blogging as a source of news. The intense development of new media technologies has lead to a rapid increase and activism of Moldovan bloggers. The blogging community maintains its own webpage –Blogosfera.md (has around 2000 blogs registered) and a Facebook page (which numbers around 400 members) and Twitter account. The Moldovan bloggers also initiated a blogging competition -Blogov ă ţ – which aims to create an alternative space of free expression, discussion and cooperation. A popular news portal also developed and upholds its own networks of blogs – UNIMEDIA.info, which hosts blogs of journalists, politicians and civil society representatives. Many journalists also maintain popular blogs that often become a source of public information alongside the traditional media outlets. 6

News in Social Media According to the Moldova Blogger Survey, the most popular are personal blogs (74 percent), media blogs (27 percent), and information technology blogs (23 percent). The same survey shows that half of the respondents believe blogs to be as reliable as the press (50 percent) or even more reliable than the press (38 percent). The Romanian language is predominant in writing and administrating blogs (about 70 percent), followed by English (15 percent), and then Russian (10 percent). As for the main sources of information for writing blogs, most of the authors rely on their own knowledge (83 percent), other websites (56 percent), research and surveys (45 percent), and the media (39 percent). 7

Online media o Agenda.md provides an online calendar on events taking place in Moldova or involving Moldovan citizens abroad. o Communicate.md is an online platform specialised in distributing press releases of public institutions, organizations and political parties. o Europa.md is an online portal dedicated since 2006 to promoting news and information regarding European Integration of Moldova and EU affairs. o Jurnal TV is an internet TV channel (news oriented), part of the network of Jurnal Trust Media. o Moldova.org was launched in 1997 and remains an independent portal that provides Moldova's and international news and information. o Moldova Azi was initiated in 2001 as a project of the Independent Journalism Centre. Publika TV Privesc.eu is a portal of online transmissions developed in 2009 by a team of volunteers. It provides free online non- moderated broadcasts from the most important events in Moldova. Stireazilei.md Stiri.md TheNews.md is specialised in economic and business journalism. Unimedia is a very popular online news portal. In December 2009 it signed a deal of partnership with the Romanian Group Realitatea-Catavencu. ВЕСТИ is an online news portal in Russian, which is also administered by the same owners as Unimedia - New Media Group. Yam News appeared in 2004 as the first online automatic news aggregator and processor in Moldova. It monitors information from many popular websites in 3 languages (Romanian, Russian and English). 8

Thank You for your attention! 9