President Karol Nawrocki vetoed on Friday a bill implementing the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) that would have allowed authorities to block illegal online content.
The legislation, drafted by the Ministry of Digitalization, would have created a procedure for rapidly blocking illegal material, including hate speech and content harming children. It was the second of two bills prepared after Nawrocki vetoed the initial implementation in January. The first, appointing the head of the Office of Electronic Communications as digital services coordinator, took effect on 6 November.
Nawrocki said he would not yield to "blackmail by the government" and warned the bill revived the "specter of an official censor." He called it an "abuse of power" to secure political interests and raised constitutional doubts about blocking content without judicial review. "In normal conditions the bill could go to the Constitutional Tribunal," he said. "But today there is no Tribunal. It must first be rebuilt. The veto was therefore the only option."
Deputy Prime Minister and Digitalization Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski called Friday a "black day for the security of Polish women and men online." He issued a "public indictment" accusing the president of personal responsibility for every harmed child. "You can veto a bill, but you cannot veto the problem," he said. Deputy Minister Dariusz Standerski called the veto "scandalous," listing suicide incitement, murder orders and child abuse material as crimes the bill targeted. Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X: "Protecting children from online criminals. Hard to imagine a more important matter that should unite beyond political divisions. And yet he vetoed."
Opposition politicians praised the decision. Sławomir Mentzen wrote that "one cannot allow restrictions on freedom of speech." Krzysztof Bosak said the bill would have opened the door to "administrative censorship without prior judicial control."
The government promised to draft new legislation. Gawkowski said: "We will prepare another bill that will give security on the internet. We will do this, Mr. President, until it works." Poland faces potential fines from the EU Court of Justice for failing to fully implement the Digital Services Act, which has applied across the bloc for over two years.
