01.04.2025

Today, ANCOM participated in a meeting organized by the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) and the Central Electoral Bureau with the campaign teams of the candidates for the presidential elections to be held on the 4^th of May 2025, to inform them about the concepts and mechanisms introduced by DSA and about ANCOM’s role as digital services coordinator (DSC) at national level. The Digital Services Act promotes transparency, accountability and fairness in the moderation of the online content, with the aim of creating a safe and open online environment. 

This is part of a series of meetings dedicated to the preparation, information and efficient coordination of all actors involved in the electoral process (public institutions, political actors, civil society, very large online platforms) so that the 2025 presidential elections take place in good conditions. The meeting was attended by the European Commission Representative in Bucharest as an observer.

At the presidential elections in May 2025, ANCOM, together with the Permanent Electoral Authority, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Audiovisual Council, the National Directorate for Cybersecurity and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be part of the auxiliary technical staff of the Central Electoral Bureau.  

During the meeting, ANCOM representatives reiterated the importance of three documents aiming to guide online platforms regarding electoral process. These documents must be known by all participants who hold different roles in the electoral context:

•  Commission Guidelines for providers of Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines on the mitigation of systemic risks for electoral processes;
• 2022 Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation (The European Commission has approved the integration of the Voluntary Code of Practice on Disinformation as a Code of Conduct in the Digital Services Regulation);
• The code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online +.

European Commission is the only one to oversee the obligation of very large online platforms to identify, analyse and implement measures to mitigate the systemic risks associated to their services, including those related to disinformation, public safety and the impact on fundamental rights.

Digital Services Act

DSA does not empower digital services coordinator to rule on the legality or veracity of online content, however it puts in place due diligence mechanisms for online platforms to protect fundamental rights. Therefore, DSA envisages that online platforms manage users’ content in a diligent, consistent, transparent and lawful manner – and especially observing the fundamental right to expression and freedom – rather than aiming to achieve excessive moderation of online content.

To protect the freedom of expression, DSA obliges online platforms to: 

• clearly explain how they moderate content in their terms and conditions and apply these rules consistently and fairly;
• provide users with detailed explanations of why their content or account has been restricted or removed;
• create internal complaint resolution systems that allow users to appeal moderation decisions directly to the online platform provider.

ANCOM is the national digital services coordinator, being responsible for ensuring compliance with the Digital Services Act in Romania.