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Polish parliament passes law on blocking illegal online content, Senate next
Poland's lower house, the Sejm, passed a law on Thursday on blocking illegal content online. It implements the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).
The law passed with 242 votes in favour, 61 against and 136 abstentions, RMF24 reports. The Digital Services Act is an EU regulation that sets out the obligations of online platforms, including on illegal content.
Who will be able to block content
According to RMF24, website blocks will be ordered by courts and authorised bodies. In urgent cases, prosecutors, the police, the National Revenue Administration (KAS) and the Border Guard can request a fast-track block. A register of blocked websites is to be kept by the president of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE). Blocking decisions can be appealed to a common court.
Two views of the law
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, as quoted by Do Rzeczy: “Most of the evil that drives young people, sometimes children, to crime lurks on the internet.”
President Karol Nawrocki took a different view of the earlier version. He vetoed the first version of the law in January. In his justification for the veto he wrote: “As president, I cannot sign a law that in practice means administrative censorship.”
The Senate, then the president
The law now goes to the Senate. Senators can pass it unchanged, amend it or reject it. If they amend or reject it, it goes back to the Sejm. Finally, the law will go to the president, who can sign it, veto it or refer it to the Constitutional Tribunal.
Source: RMF24, Do Rzeczy (8 Oct 2026)