Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Oct. 21 that unfulfilled state requests to social media platforms would trigger proceedings for financial penalties, raising the stakes in Poland's dispute with companies over disinformation.
The warning came as Poland's NASK National Research Institute published figures on how platforms handled reports it sent from January through June 2026. Of 65,220 flagged pieces of content and accounts, NASK said companies removed 4,380, or 6.7%, and visibly moderated 11,270, or 17.3%.
The remaining 49,570 reported items, or 76%, received no removal or visible moderation, NASK said. That group includes reports the platforms rejected and cases in which they sent no response. NASK said leaving reported material accessible continued to expose users to it.
The figures do not establish who operated every reported account or created every post. NASK said a pro-Iranian campaign accounted for many of the items that received no removal or visible moderation.
Gawkowski called the platforms a “silent ally” to Russian bots and accused them of profiting from disinformation. Poland and other Western governments have accused Russia of spreading disinformation to destabilize their societies. Reuters reported that Moscow denies those accusations and says Western leaders exaggerate the threat for political reasons.
Gawkowski demanded Polish-speaking moderation teams with direct contacts for authorities reporting suspect material. He also called for faster responses, the removal of identified bot networks and an end to what he described as sham appeals processes.
Reuters sought comment from Discord, Google, Meta, X, Telegram and TikTok but received no immediate reply. Gawkowski said a state request left unfulfilled would prompt proceedings to seek a financial penalty; he gave no date for a penalty decision.
