U.S. Ambassador Tom Rose praised Polish President Karol Nawrocki for vetoing what he called a “criminal and anti-American” EU digital services law.
U.S. Ambassador Praised Polish President for Veto on Digital Services
U.S. Ambassador Tom Rose praised Polish President Karol Nawrocki at night for vetoing the EU’s criminal and anti-American digital services law. “President Karol Nawrocki deserves great recognition for vetoing the adoption by Poland of a criminal and anti-American EU digital services law,” wrote the U.S. Ambassador to Poland.
The President assessed that the regulations would introduce “administrative censorship” in Poland. The American diplomat stated that “the law would weaken Poland in many ways.” “It would stifle innovation, limit achievements, create huge barriers for new entities entering the market and practically prevent Polish companies from scaling,” argued Rose.
President’s Veto on Digital Services
On Friday, January 9, before meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Karol Nawrocki informed that he had vetoed three bills, including the digital services law blocking illegal content on the internet. In a recording posted on social media, the President justified his decision, stating that in his opinion, the law – while containing favorable solutions – also has “add-ons” that he cannot agree to.
This mainly concerned an office for detecting irregularities. The so-called digital law gave the presidents of the Electronic Communications Office and the National Council for Radio and Television the possibility to order internet portals to remove illegal content. According to Karol Nawrocki, this would introduce “administrative censorship.”
Deputy Prime Minister Responds to Musk
Elon Musk commented on the Polish president’s veto. “Bravo!” wrote the owner of X service, adding the Polish flag. To this post, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs responded. “This veto is not a victory, it’s a disgrace,” wrote Krzysztof Gawkowski.
“We should protect our citizens from digital waste, not defend the interests of those who pump it up on an industrial scale,” wrote the deputy prime minister.
What Do Experts Say?
As indicated by the demagog.org portal, “the provisions whose entry into force was blocked by the president concerned only strictly defined content violating the law.” Journalists noted that the law did not limit the possibility of criticizing the government, the European Union or expressing conservative views.
The President of the Panoptykon Foundation, on the other hand, assessed that as a result of the presidential veto, Poland will still not have a “quick and effective appeals path from censorious decisions of large internet platforms such as TikTok, X or YouTube.” “It is absurd that we cannot complain in Poland about such blatant violations of rights,” commented on Nawrocki’s decision.
