Polish government defends plans to allow internet content to be blocked without court approval

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland’s government has defended plans to allow a state agency to block internet content without court approval, after they faced accusations of “censorship” from the conservative opposition.

The digital affairs minister says that the measures are necessary in order to “create a safer online environment” because moderation cannot be left solely in the hands of social media companies. He also claims any decisions “will never happen at the expense of freedom of speech”.

Zaproponowane już po etapie konsultacji publicznychprzepisy umożliwiające blokowanie treści grożą ograniczeniem wolności słowa. Zwłaszcza że ma się to odbywać bez udziału sądu i samych zainteresowanych.

link: https://t.co/XG1AZnSfEJ

— anna wittenberg (@annawitten) January 12, 2025

On Monday morning, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP), a leading daily newspaper, reported that the government has prepared regulations that are intended to implement the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Under the proposed measures, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), a state regulator, would be empowered to block content on the internet if it finds that “it violates someone’s personal rights, intellectual property rights or meets the criteria for a prohibited act, or praises or incites [such an act]”.

Such decisions would be made without the involvement of a court or any of the parties connected to the content in question. DGP called the plans “censorship” and noted that they have caused concern about free speech among expert groups, including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

The newspaper’s report also prompted anger from leading figures in the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) and far-right Confederation (Konfederacja), Poland’s main opposition parties.

“[Prime Minister Donald] Tusk will introduce fully fledged censorship,” wrote PiS MP Radosław Fogiel. “This government is afraid of any manifestations of freedom of information. They only want propaganda controlled by them.”

“The government dreams of censorship,” wrote Krzysztof Bosak, one of the leaders of Confederation and a deputy speaker of parliament. “It is hard to find a more open exposure of the mentality of those in power.”

However, digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who is also a deputy prime minister, responded with a statement defending the plans and declaring that “democratic values ​​and freedom of speech are the most important values for the government”.

Gawkowski said that the measures are intended to combat illegal content online because, currently, it is entirely up to internet platforms themselves to assess such content and decide whether to remove it.

He argued that the proposed regulations “fully respect [the EU’s] Charter of Fundamental Rights” and noted that any decision to remove content could be appealed in court.

“The state is supposed to protect its citizens, and the Digital Services Act focuses precisely on creating a safer online environment for digital users,” wrote Gawkowski. “Freedom of speech, while crucial, cannot justify actions that violate the rights of others.”

Subsequently, the digital affairs ministry itself issued a lengthy statement in response to DGP’s article, providing further details of the proposed measures and their justification.

It argued that the instantaneous nature of modern online communication requires the authorities to be able to react quickly to illegal content. The ministry added that Poland already has regulations allowing, for example, SMS messages to be blocked without the involvement of a court if they have illegal content.

“The priority is the efficient and effective protection of citizens in the world of the ongoing digital revolution…creating a safer online environment for users and digital companies and protecting fundamental rights in the digital space,” wrote the ministry.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.