Global big techs not exempt from EU digital laws, says Polish minister
The EU's digital regulations apply to all companies, including technology giants from the Silicon Valley which operate in Europe, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said after the European Commission (EC) began an inquiry into Elon Musk's X platform.
On Monday, the EC announced it had launched a formal investigation against X under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). The inquiry will assess whether the platform adequately evaluated and mitigated risks linked to the spread of illegal content in the EU, including manipulated sexually explicit images allegedly generated by its chatbot, Grok.
Reacting to the announcement on Tuesday evening, Gawkowski wrote on X: "Millions of sexualised images of women and men, generated by Grok on X are not an 'algorithmic error' – they are a real threat."
He added that the EC had launched a formal investigation at Poland's request. "Platforms have obligations. The DSA at the European level applies to everyone — including the giants from Silicon Valley," the minister wrote.
He also expressed hope that the news digital legislation currently being drafted by the Polish government would soon offer stronger protections against exposure to illegal online content.
In early January, Polish President Karol Nawrocki refused to sign into law an amended digital services bill which aimed to implement the EU's DSA. The vetoed bill enabled state authorities to order illegal content removal by digital platforms. Nawrocki argued the measures would introduce "administrative censorship".
Earlier in the week, the Ministry of Digital Affairs announced it had prepared two separate bills to implement the DSA in the Polish law and had placed them on the government's legislative agenda.
Under the proposed framework, oversight of digital services in Poland would be divided among several institutions. The Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), headed by its president, would act as the national digital services coordinator, while the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) would supervise DSA implementation within their respective areas of responsibility. (PAP)
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