Moldova

[MD] NRA sanctions to protect minors

IRIS 2025-10:1/7

Andrei Richter

Comenius University (Bratislava)

At its meeting on 13 November 2025, the national media regulator of Moldova, the Audiovisual Council (CA), decided to impose a fine of 5 000 Moldavan leu (about €250) on the national public TV station Moldova-1, for violating the rights of minors.

Violations were found, following investigation of the complaint by a private citizen, in the story broadcast as part of the 9 p.m. news bulletin Mesager (Messenger), on 19 September 2025. The story reported on the lack of teachers at kindergartens in Chisinau. Violations were confirmed in video sequences filmed inside a particular kindergarten with children in the playroom, in the playground and during day sleep preparations. Their faces were clearly visible and could be easily identified, as the number of the kindergarten and the district in which it is located were provided. According to the report of the CA, there was no evidence that the consent of parents or legal representatives for filming and broadcasting the minors had been obtained. The CA thus found violations of the provisions of Article 15 of the Audiovisual Media Services Code (Protection of minors), and paragraph 38 of the CA Regulation on Audiovisual Content, regarding respect for the rights of minors in audiovisual programmes.

Moreover, according to the conclusion of the national expert body on the protection of personal data, provided to the CA, the presence of minors in the news report “had no direct editorial justification, since the topic of the material concerned the lack of educators and the problems of the preschool system, not the activity or behaviour of children”.

In a related development, on 13 October 2025, the city court of Chisinau dismissed as unfounded the complaint filed by the private broadcaster PRO TV Chisinau in relation to a decision of the CA from March 2024. The TV station was fined 5 000 Moldavan leu for violating the provisions of the general requirements for audiovisual commercial communications. In that incident, the CA looked into the show Gusturile se discus (Tastes are discussed) broadcast on 20 January 2024, wherein the wine and sparkling wines of a merchant were advertised without the obligatory by-law warning that excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful. The CA pointed, in particular, to the fact that, during the show, alcohol was openly consumed, including by the show's presenters, in front of a guest who was a minor.

The obligatory dissemination of the warning regarding the harm of excessive alcohol consumption is provided for in Article 43 paragraph (2) of the Law on Advertising.


References

  • Audiovisual Media Services Code of the Republic of Moldova No. 174/2018 of 8 November 2018. Published: 12 December 2018 in Monitorul Oficial No. 462-466 Article 766

  • Law on Advertising No. 62 of 17 March 2022. Published: 8 April 2022 in Monitorul Oficial No. 98-105 Article 171

  • CA sanctioned the national public station Moldova 1 with MDL 5 000 for violating the rules regarding the protection of minors. 13 November 2025

  • CA wins a lawsuit filed by PRO TV Chisinau regarding the advertising of alcoholic beverages. 22 October 2025

This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.