Marcin Przydacz, a Law and Justice (PiS) MP, and Piotr Ikonowicz from the Social Justice Movement appeared on yesterday’s episode of Today’s Guest (Gość Dzisiaj) in TV Republika. The main topic of discussion was President Andrzej Duda’s decision to refer the hate speech bill to the Constitutional Tribunal.
Marcin Przydacz emphasized that the bill should indeed be reviewed by the Constitutional Tribunal, and he welcomed the President’s decision to do so.
“We had a long debate about this bill in the Sejm. It was introduced by circles linked to the ruling coalition, in our view, to limit freedom of speech — particularly online — by restricting the way people express themselves. The kind of language being targeted is simply not acceptable to the left. The so-called ‘hate speech’ label is being used as a pretext to curtail freedom of speech. What’s more, the bill seems to aim at removing certain restrictions, such as those related to age, but no one really knows what exactly is intended — it’s all very open to interpretation. That’s why I believe the President made the right decision by not signing the bill and referring it to the Constitutional Tribunal. It needs to be thoroughly examined and analyzed,” Przydacz said.
Piotr Ikonowicz pointed out that the real issue lies in the political misuse of certain expressions — in politics, words are often used harshly and without restraint.
“The question is whether you can legislate political culture. I think that’s quite difficult. Of course, we would all prefer a more civil tone, but that’s not always the case. Personally, I’m a fan of the kind of phrasing used in the British Parliament — instead of saying ‘you’re lying,’ MPs say things like ‘you’re being economical with the truth.’ At the same time, I don’t think we should dismiss the problem or claim the bill is simply about censorship. In my view, we are seeing a coarsening of political language, and there is room for a law that helps shape discourse without silencing anyone.”
The guests also discussed upcoming presidential debates.