Romania’s Drive to Censor ‘Fake News’ Worries Activists

Plesoianu on April 25 invoked article 54 of the decree issued on 16 March by President Iohannis declaring a state of emergency, which has been used to block access to a dozen websites since then. 

The article grants special powers to the National Authority for the Administration and Reglamentation of Communications, ANCOM, on the request of the Interior Ministry, to block access to any online news platform that publishes content "promoting fake news regarding the COVID-19 evolution and the protection and prevention measures".

According to Plesoianu, the presidential website was itself guilty of such charges on 11 March, the day the World Health Organization, WHO, declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. 

That day, Iohannis posted a speech on the website in which he said: "Even older people who have other health problems as well, generally have an acceptable condition" - and warned against calling the coronavirus a "killer virus".

Beyond the debate about whether this assertion constituted misinformation, the MP's request to close the website for posting "fake news" has few prospects of success, as the National Liberal Party government will not likely take such action against its presidential ally.

But Plesoianu's stunt has raised bigger questions about the legitimacy of a legal provision that grants the government a referee role to decide what is fake news, and what content can be published or should be censored.

"Whoever decides what is fake news today can decide what is fake based on the preferences of the moment," Cosmin Pojoranu, from the fact-checking website Factual.ro, told BIRN. 

Pojoranu expresses concerns over the opaque nature of the decision-making process when it comes to blocking access to websites. 

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