Social Media companies that remove posts content is legal in Poland could be fined up to €1.8 million under a new Polish bill.
Users of social media have welcomed the introduction as an antidote to other nations growing censorship problems.
Any social media company that removes content or blocks accounts that do not violate Polish law can be fined under the new legislation, announced in a press conference on Thursday by Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
The bill also creates a special Court for the Protection of Freedom of Speech within one of the district courts.
Individuals whose posts have been censored will have the right to complain to the platform in question, which has 24 hours to respond – the user then has 48 hours to petition the new court to have their content reinstated, the court will then have seven days to consider the petition.
If the court finds in favour of the user and the social media platform does not restore the content or unblock the account, they will be fined up to €1.8 million by the Office of Electronic Communications.
Secretary of State Sebastian Kaleta said this solution represents a significant improvement over attempts by countries such as France and Germany to handle such problems – he said their efforts are “primarily repressive” and focus on the quick removal of content rather than protecting free expression.
“Poland wants to adopt its own regulations, effectively defending the constitutional right to freedom of expression, so that in the event of a dispute…the courts will decide on a possible violation of the law,” a Polish Government Press release said.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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