Czeslaw Panko
According to the report, categories such as the elderly, people with disabilities, linguistic minorities and rural areas are at risk of losing access to vital services. This could happen if digitalization processes are not accompanied by adequate accessibility and the preservation of equivalent offline alternatives.
“Sometimes in the process of large-scale digitalization of services there is digital exclusion and discrimination of vulnerable groups who do not have access to these digital services,” said Czeslaw Panko during the presentation of the report.
The document pays special attention to the protection of personal data. The Ombudsman expresses concern that the constant expansion of state registers and automated data exchange between agencies, combined with the introduction of new technologies, significantly increase the risk of excessive surveillance and unauthorized access to personal information.
Moreover, the report highlights the dangers of using artificial intelligence and automated decision-making processes. In the absence of strong mechanisms for human oversight, transparency and the right to appeal, citizens risk being held hostage to opaque decisions or systemic errors that can directly violate their fundamental rights.
To date, according to the e-Government Agency, more than 65% of public services in the Republic of Moldova have already been digitized.
