The Polish government is threatening the rule of law

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Poland has witnessed a further deterioration to the rule of law and fundamental human rights. Poland has implemented a near-ban on abortions, has regularly attacked the LGBTQ+ community and have threatened to pull out of the Instahul Convention among other things. 

In addition, in a letter to the Prime Minister of Poland, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, stated her concerns over the possible implications that those draft laws could have on freedom of expression, pluralism and the right to privacy. 

On the one hand, the draft law could potentially undermine the independence of the media and pluralism within the media environment by placing and advertising revenue tax on media outlets. As a result, citizens will also be affected as their ability to choose the content that most interests them will become more limited. 

On the other hand, the second draft law, which would require the establishment of a body with the authority to review appeals against internet companies' decision on access to content, could worsen the rule of law in the country. The Commissioner raised concern over the independence of this body and the risk that will entail for having to define what is considered as illegal content and hate speech.

Source: 

https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/poland-draft-media-laws-should-respect-european-huma n-rights-standards 

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