IJC: How are things going with the implementation of the new law on advertising?

The Moldovan government is somewhat lagging behind in the implementation of the new law on advertising, which has been in force for more than six months, according to an analysis published by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) on Tuesday 25 July.

In this paper, the IJC analyses whether the authorities that were given specific deadlines by law to meet certain tasks in the implementation of the new advertising law were able to fulfil their obligations.

According to the IJC’s analysis, the Moldovan government has not fulfilled its obligation to adopt regulations concerning the Council for Public Interest Messages by 8 April 2023.  ‘This state of affairs is delaying the process of correct and effective implementation of the provisions of the new law on advertising, creating a bottleneck in the use of messages of public interest,’ the authors state. At the same time, IJC notes that this ‘lagging behind’ of the Government creates the possibility of introducing inconsistencies in the regulations to be contained in the administrative regulatory documents concerning public interest messages pending before other authorities.

The IJC also analyses the work of the Competition Council (CC) and the Broadcasting Council aimed at increasing knowledge of the advertising market, bringing regulations in line with the provisions of the new law and improving administrative practices in this segment.

In conclusion, IJC offers a number of recommendations for the authorities to ensure effective implementation of the new Advertising Law and to improve the system of monitoring and control over compliance with advertising legislation. Among other things, IJC recommends that the Government of the Republic of Moldova urgently adopt regulations on the structure, establishment, organisation and functioning of the Council for Public Interest Messages.