On Wednesday evening, March 29th, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, participated in a leadership panel at the second virtual democracy summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. Over 100 countries and territories were invited to the event, which aimed to discuss the challenges faced by democracies globally.
In a joint open letter, the prime ministers of Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia urged major IT companies to be more vigilant in resisting their use as a means to promote malign objectives. They emphasized the importance of cooperation with various stakeholders, including governments, civil society, experts, and the academic community, to ensure an effective response to disinformation.
The letter stated that signatory governments had observed that disinformation was used to destabilize countries, weaken democracies, and derail transformation and modernization processes in states aspiring to join the EU. To address these issues, the letter proposed several concrete actions, including using algorithms that prioritize the accuracy and veracity of shared information, clearer moderation policies, and stricter rules for paid content from verified users.
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“This is a call to action, as foreign interference and malign manipulation, including disinformation campaigns, pose a threat to our democracies, stability, and national security. Major technology companies have the power to be vital allies in our collective effort to combat hostile information attacks against democracies and a rules-based international order,” said the prime ministers of Estonia, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
President Maia Sandu’s speech
During her five-minute speech, President Sandu addressed the issue of combating disinformation and Russian propaganda. She highlighted the international appeal made to major IT companies and called on them to act against foreign interference and manipulation of information, including disinformation campaigns that undermine peace and stability in Europe.
Likewise, Maia Sandu reiterated at the 2023 Democracy Summit the request to create a regime of sanctions for destabilizing oligarchs. Previously, the members of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee (CPA) adopted, in Brussels, a declaration in which they mention the European regime of sanctions for oligarchs who want to destabilize and corrupt the Republic of Moldova.
“In other words, our stability is in your interest”, is how Maia Sandu concluded her speech.
The event attended by dozens of heads of state, in the current March 28-30 period, is held in a hybrid mode, with most participants having an online presence. The first such summit in December 2021, against the backdrop of the strengthening of authoritarian regimes.