Nawrocki has until Friday to decide on law letting Poland block illegal online content

In brief

• President Karol Nawrocki must decide by 13 November whether to sign a law implementing the EU Digital Services Act in Poland.
• The law would let authorities quickly block illegal content, including hate speech, and challenge unjustified platform blocks.
• Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski urges the president to sign, citing data on cyberbullying among Polish teenagers.
• Civil liberties groups warn about who would control content blocking powers.

Deadline and the president's options

President Karol Nawrocki has until Friday, 13 November, to decide on the bill implementing the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) in Poland. The presidential spokesman, Rafał Leśkiewicz, told WP's "Tłit" programme that the decision would be announced no later than that day (Ustawa cyfrowa. Leśkiewicz: Decyzja prezydenta najpóźniej w piątek – Wirtualna Polska). The legislation would allow swift removal or blocking of illegal material, including hate speech, and would also provide ways to challenge accounts that platforms have blocked without good reason (Nawrocki zdecyduje o blokowaniu treści w internecie. Rząd ujawnia alarmujące dane – Rzeczpospolita) ("Nikt nie dostanie czerwonego przycisku w internecie". Prezydentowi kończy się czas na ważną decyzję – WNP.pl).

Government pressure

Krzysztof Gawkowski, who serves as deputy prime minister and digital affairs minister, has appealed to the president to act. He argues that platforms must be compelled to respond and that protecting children and ordinary users should rise above party divisions (Gawkowski zwrócił się do Nawrockiego. Wystosował apel – Wirtualna Polska).

To back the appeal, the ministry published a report it calls the "black book of young victims of digital platforms in Poland". It draws on data from NASK, the Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę foundation, Dyżurnet.pl and the WHO. According to the document, 39% of Polish teenagers have experienced cyberbullying, and 24% of those victims say the harassment recurs at least monthly. Some 47% of victimised pupils did not tell anyone („Czarna księga młodych ofiar platform cyfrowych w Polsce” – Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji). A separate figure cited by the ministry puts the share of Polish children and teenagers who have encountered sexual cyber-aggression at 45% (Zegar tyka do piątku. Czy Nawrocki da państwu narzędzia do blokowania nielegalnych treści w internecie? – Bankier.pl).

Civil liberties concerns

Critics focus on who would hold the power to block content. Katarzyna Szymielewicz, president of the Panoptykon Foundation, has said that neither the head of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) nor a judge would receive a "red button" to block content on their own. The debate is therefore less about whether illegal content should be removed and more about how much control the state would gain over online speech.

What happens next

If the president signs, the rules would take effect as part of Poland's DSA implementation. If he refuses, the bill would return to parliament, and the government's stated goal of faster action against harmful content would be delayed.