Today, December 11, the National Authority for Communications has decided to block the access to 40 pornographic websites, for failing to comply with the provisions of article 7 of Law no.196/2003 on preventing and fighting pornography, republished. The ANC investigation revealed that these websites, hosted in Romania, did not observe the legal requirements on access granted by a password (in most cases, even the minimum warning on the age of persons allowed to access them was absent) and did not request the payment of a fee per minute of use.
“Since the access to such websites did not require a password and did not involve the payment of a usage fee, as required by the law, these materials could easily be accessed by underage users, which is strictly forbidden by the law,” the ANC President, Liviu Nistoran, declared.
“We will not publish the list of these websites, to avoid encouraging their accessing in the following period; however, we will ensure that the access to such websites is blocked,” Liviu Nistoran added.
Today, ANC will require the main Internet access providers in Romania to block the access to the respective websites. Within 48 hours from receiving such a request, the providers are to block the access of their users to the specified websites. Moreover, ANC will inform the police bodies, legally competent to take measures against the providers that do not comply with the abovementioned obligation. Failure to comply with this obligation is a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine ranging from RON 10,000 to 50,000.