23.04.2025

The Digital Services Act primarily aims to prevent illegal and harmful activities in the online environment, ensuring users safety, protecting their fundamental rights and creating a fair and open environment for intermediary service providers. DSA establishes, inter alia, the conditions under which the intermediary service providers established in the European Union can receive complaints regarding illegal content, goods or services online.

ANCOM reminds that, during the electoral campaign period, according to the electoral legislation in force, individuals who identify non-compliant online political advertising materials on very large online platforms can submit complaints to the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC).

ANCOM also specifies that, based on its legal responsibilities under the Digital Services Act, it handles all the notifications received objectively, fairly and with celerity. As for the notifications received by ANCOM from two of the political actors involved in the electoral campaign, we specify that the issues reported differ in substance: one concerns potentially illegal content, while the other relates to altered visibility on major platforms.

For their analysis, ANCOM requested clarifications on the measures taken by the complainants which should reflect the conduct of very large online platforms and their compliance with the obligations under the digital services legislation. ANCOM also took all legal measures within its competencies. Both complaints were addressed with equal urgency by ANCOM, although the response times from the political actors differed (24 and 74 hours, respectively) in responding to the Authority’s request for clarifications. 

ANCOM also informs that it has sent its response to both complainants. Additionally, ANCOM has notified the VLOPs and the European Commission regarding the complaint concerning visibility alteration. Regarding the other complaint, ANCOM will take the necessary measures to notify the relevant VLOPs depending on any information it may receive from BEC, in its capacity as the relevant authority under Emergency Ordinance no. 1/2025.