Henna Virkkunen, the EU Commissioner for Digital Affairs, stated in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the European Commission (EC) is considering organizing a “roundtable” before Poland’s presidential elections. In reality, no deliberation is taking place—the proposal has already been submitted, and the Polish authorities, at the request of the EC, have presented their plan for managing online activities during the elections.
The Commission Demands – The Government Complies
According to Niezależna.pl, the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs reported that on February 19, 2025, a meeting of the European Digital Services Council took place in Brussels. This advisory body consists of Digital Services Coordinators from EU member states and the Commission, established under Article 61 of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Poland was represented at the meeting by the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE).
At the Commission’s request, UKE presented information on the election protection program called “Election Umbrella”. During informal discussions at the meeting, a Commission representative approached UKE officials with a proposal to organize a roundtable on the Polish presidential elections. This was confirmed in a statement by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, led by Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, in response to media inquiries.
Under the DSA, the Commission holds supervisory authority over very large online platforms (VLOP) and very large search engines (VLSE). These entities are required to mitigate the risks of actual or foreseeable negative impacts on electoral processes. While the exact details of the Commission’s proposal regarding discussions with the Polish government remain unclear, the initiative broadly aims to assess whether VLOP and VLSE are implementing adequate measures to minimize risks to the electoral process in Poland, according to the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
Content Removal
Polish authorities are not waiting for a roundtable—they have already taken action.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs and NASK (Research and Academic Computer Network) have initiated discussions with social media platforms to streamline the handling of misinformation reports. Platforms have committed to prioritizing such reports during the election period. Ongoing cooperation with online platforms includes regular discussions on electoral disinformation, meetings with platform security experts, and compliance with the DSA, which obliges EU-based platform owners to ensure user safety. As a result, the removal of harmful content and misinformation is mandatory, the ministry informed Niezależna.pl.
What have Polish authorities already presented to Brussels upon request? The Election Umbrella framework. Minister Gawkowski introduced it during a conference, and the details are publicly available online.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs and NASK have established a monitoring system for social media platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram, as well as a system for verifying online content.
Additional measures (citing the ministry’s website) include:
- Identifying electoral disinformation in the Polish information space.
- Monitoring violations of election silence and activities of deceptive influencers.
- Producing analytical reports on disinformation and mapping influencer funding.
- Conducting training sessions and educational meetings for NGOs, journalists, and electoral committees.
- Launching diagnostic tools for citizens and businesses, such as domain security scans and password breach notifications.
- Maintaining and developing the website bezpiecznewybory.pl, which focuses on election security.
As outlined in the ministry’s presentation, the Ministry of Digital Affairs and NASK will be responsible for reporting inappropriate content and processing reports from citizens.
The Internal Security Agency (ABW) has also announced its involvement in the election protection plan. Its efforts will focus on identifying vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and securing key election-related applications. Additionally, ABW has pledged to conduct training for the National Electoral Office (KBW), including sessions on social engineering techniques that foreign intelligence agencies might use to disrupt the electoral process.
Opposition to Interference
The proposed roundtable and the European Commission’s involvement in Poland’s election process have been met with opposition from various groups, including the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT). In a statement signed by its chairman, Maciej Świrski, the Council expressed strong opposition to the EC’s planned roundtable on the Polish presidential elections.
The statement emphasized that “any attempt by international institutions to interfere in the electoral process undermines the fundamental principles of democracy and national sovereignty of a member state.”
“KRRiT firmly disagrees with the views expressed by EC Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty Henna Virkkunen, who suggested that free and fair elections could be threatened by ‘content recommendation systems and the very content disseminated by online platforms,”
the Council’s statement read.