The Extraordinary Committee for Codification Changes has approved amendments to bills from both PiS and KO, aiming to criminalize the online broadcasting of prohibited acts and staged violence.
Legislative Progress on Criminalizing Patostreaming
The committee has expressed a positive opinion on amendments aimed at banning “patostreaming”—a term derived from “pathology” and “stream,” referring to the broadcasting of vulgar, obscene, or brutal content. The proposed laws would introduce criminal liability for publishing footage of real or staged crimes.
New provisions specifically address the dissemination of animal cruelty and refine definitions concerning the depiction of minors in illegal content. Lawmakers from both the Civic Coalition (KO) and Law and Justice (PiS) are actively working on these measures, though they remain divided on specific exemptions.
Political Disagreements and Scope of Prosecution
The legislative debate centers on significant differences between the PiS and KO proposals, particularly regarding the promotion of illegal gambling, legal protections for cephalopods, and exemptions for artistic or scientific activities. PiS has previously suggested immunity for those acting in the public interest, while proposing prison sentences ranging from six months to eight years for profit-driven streaming of crimes.
Current proposals from both parties align on a base prison sentence of three months to five years for the outlined offenses. The definition of prohibited acts includes intentional crimes against life, health, sexual freedom, and public decency, as well as the mistreatment of animals and illegal gambling promotion.
Prevalence Among Polish Youth
According to a 2024 report by the NASK National Research Institute, 22 percent of students in the final years of primary and secondary schools reported watching patostream content. This figure marks a slight decline from the 26 percent recorded in 2022.
The current parliamentary push represents a renewed effort to address the phenomenon. A similar proposal introduced by PiS in May 2023 failed to progress due to the principle of parliamentary discontinuity, leading to this current iteration of the draft amendments.