Poland’s government has confronted some of the world’s largest technology companies over their handling of violent online content following a series of school stabbing attacks, accusing platforms of failing to respond adequately to most of the material flagged by Polish authorities.
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski met representatives of major internet companies in Warsaw on Friday, 16 October, demanding faster removal of illegal material, stronger protections for children and more effective cooperation with police and national cybersecurity authorities.
The meeting followed three stabbing attacks at educational institutions within four days, which prompted an extensive police operation around Polish schools and increased monitoring of threats circulating online.
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According to figures Gawkowski presented at the meeting, Polish authorities reported 89 cases of allegedly illegal online content between 7 and 12 October, but platforms failed to act in more than two-thirds of those cases.
The figures were reported by Reuters on 16 October and were consistent with the broader findings published in the Digital Affairs Ministry’s official statement.
Gawkowski argued that platforms must take greater responsibility for content promoting violence and hatred, particularly material accessible to children and teenagers.
The government also reiterated its ambition to establish a minimum age of 15 for access to social-media services, although such a restriction has not been enacted in Poland.
The intervention marks a further stage in the government’s response to the school attacks, moving beyond increased police security towards possible changes in how international technology companies respond to threats and reports of illegal content.
More than two-thirds of online reports went unanswered, government says
At the centre of the dispute are complaints submitted through NASK, Poland’s National Research Institute responsible for important cybersecurity and online-safety activities.
Gawkowski presented an assessment of how platforms responded to reports concerning illegal content that appeared during or after the recent school attacks.
The ministry said more than two-thirds of the reports had been ignored.
However, the publicly released government statement did not provide a platform-by-platform breakdown showing how many reports each company received, what specific material was involved or why particular reports were rejected or left unresolved.
That distinction matters because the 89 cases represent content flagged by Polish authorities, rather than 89 independently established legal violations.
The government has not publicly demonstrated that every reported item met the legal threshold requiring removal.
The ministry said the reasons behind the inadequate responses would be examined at a further meeting with platform representatives.
According to the government, some companies also indicated that their moderation teams were unwilling to make certain removal decisions without more explicit legal requirements.
Gawkowski demanded measurable improvements, including faster response times, more effective moderation and better communication with Polish law enforcement.
He told the companies:
“I expect measurable results, not just declarations.”
The translated remark comes from the ministry’s published account of the meeting.
The government has not announced a specific numerical response-time target or a deadline by which all the requested changes must be operational.
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TikTok disputes the suggestion that it failed to respond
The ministry invited representatives of Meta, Google, TikTok, Roblox, Discord, X, Snap and Telegram to the meeting.
Its official statement said X, Snap and Telegram did not take part. Reuters also identified Google, Meta, TikTok and Discord among companies represented, although its account differed from the ministry’s concerning Telegram’s attendance.
The participating companies discussed ways to improve their communication with state authorities during emergencies.
TikTok separately challenged the implication that it had failed to respond to requests from Poland.
In a statement reported by Reuters, the company said it cooperated actively with government agencies and law enforcement and had taken action on all requests it received from Polish authorities concerning the recent content.
That response does not directly resolve the government’s wider complaint.
The ministry’s figures cover multiple platforms, and the published information does not establish whether TikTok received any of the cases the government considered inadequately addressed.
Reuters said the other technology companies approached for comment had not immediately responded.
The competing accounts underline the need for greater transparency about how reported content is assessed, what action companies take and whether authorities are informed when a report does not lead to removal.
What the government and technology companies agreed
Although disagreements remain over the handling of individual reports, the ministry said participants agreed to improve cooperation during security incidents.
The immediate measures centre on establishing faster, more direct communication channels between technology companies and Polish authorities.
These channels are intended to make it easier for police and other public institutions to report potentially illegal material and obtain responses without relying exclusively on ordinary user-reporting procedures.
The participants also agreed to arrange urgent training for public-service personnel.
That training would cover the mechanisms platforms already provide for reporting content, making contact with moderation teams and obtaining information needed for investigations.
Gawkowski additionally demanded stronger age-verification procedures and the immediate removal of accounts belonging to children under 13 where such accounts breach applicable platform rules.
The minister argued that recommendation algorithms could increase children’s exposure to disturbing material and that companies should take greater responsibility for how their systems distribute content.
The ministry said platforms had undertaken to shorten their response times and improve cooperation with police.
However, the published announcement did not identify individual deadlines, specify which companies had accepted each commitment or establish independent procedures for measuring compliance.
The measures therefore represent operational commitments announced after the meeting, not evidence that new moderation systems have already been implemented.
Three school attacks triggered nationwide security measures
The government’s intervention follows an unusually serious sequence of violent incidents at educational institutions.
On 7 October, a 19-year-old attacked people at a school in Ostrołęka, north-east of Warsaw, leaving several people injured.
The following day, a 15-year-old former pupil attacked a school in Leszczydół-Nowiny, killing a caretaker and injuring two teachers.
A third incident occurred on 10 October at a post-secondary educational institution in Warsaw, where three people were injured.
The incidents triggered widespread concern among parents, pupils and teachers, particularly as threats and content referring to the attacks circulated on the internet.
The government responded with an extensive police operation and heightened security around educational facilities.
During a government security meeting on 12 October, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said approximately 20,000 police officers were involved in patrolling schools and their surrounding areas.
Authorities also increased online monitoring as they investigated threats and potential copycat behaviour.
The prime minister warned about online communities that glorify violence and extremist ideologies, while encouraging parents and teachers to take a more active role in recognising worrying behaviour.
The relationship between online material and the individual attacks, however, requires careful interpretation.
Officials have raised concerns about possible online influences, but the available evidence does not establish that any particular platform caused the attacks or that the incidents formed part of a coordinated campaign.
Investigations into the individual cases remain distinct from the government’s broader debate about social-media regulation.
Poland renews call for minimum social-media age of 15
Beyond the immediate concerns about violent content, the Digital Affairs Ministry has reiterated its ambition to introduce a minimum age of 15 for social-media access.
That would represent a significant change for younger internet users and for platforms operating in Poland.
Gawkowski’s ministry argues that children require stronger protection from harmful material, cyberbullying, inappropriate contact and online services designed to encourage prolonged use.
However, the minimum age remains a policy objective, not a restriction already in force.
There is also a parallel legislative debate at European Union level.
The Polish ministry published information on 1 October concerning a proposed EU regulation known as the EU Kids Act, which includes a harmonised minimum age of 15 for creating accounts on certain social-media and video-sharing services.
The European proposal also envisages the possibility of guardians setting up restricted accounts for children aged 13 and 14.
Other proposed measures include privacy-protecting age verification, safer default settings, limitations on potentially addictive design features and additional safeguards for children using online gaming and artificial-intelligence services.
These are proposals under consideration, not rules that have already entered into force throughout the European Union.
The ministry’s consultation notice invited submissions on the European initiative until 15 October.
Poland’s announcement on 16 October did not establish a separate final domestic legislative text, implementation date or enforcement mechanism for a nationwide social-media age threshold.
Important outstanding questions include how users would prove their age, how personal data would be protected and what obligations would fall on parents and platform operators.
New online-content law advances through Polish parliament
The confrontation with technology platforms is also taking place alongside Poland’s implementation of the European Union’s Digital Services Act, known as the DSA.
The regulation establishes EU-wide obligations for online platforms, including procedures for reporting illegal content, transparency requirements and additional protections for minors.
Larger platforms face further duties to assess and reduce systemic risks associated with their services.
Poland has divided its domestic DSA implementation into two legislative measures.
The first has already been published in the Polish Journal of Laws. It establishes the president of the Office of Electronic Communications, known as UKE, as Poland’s Digital Services Coordinator and provides a national framework for regulatory oversight.
A second law is intended to establish procedures for restricting access to illegal online content and giving users ways to challenge relevant decisions.
According to the Polish Senate’s legislative record, the Sejm passed the second measure on 8 October and the Senate adopted amendments on 13 October.
The ministry reported that development in an announcement dated 14 October.
The proposed procedures include measures allowing certain decisions concerning illegal content linked to serious offences to be enforced immediately following appropriate requests from police or prosecutors.
They also include procedural safeguards and opportunities to challenge decisions.
Because the Senate introduced amendments, the measure still requires further legislative steps before becoming law.
These DSA implementation measures must not be confused with the separate proposed minimum social-media age of 15.
The broader EU legislation already applies to relevant services, while Poland’s domestic procedures are being expanded and refined.
The European Commission’s explanation of the Digital Services Act also makes clear that protection from illegal content must be balanced with fundamental rights, including freedom of expression.
What happens next?
The immediate test for Poland’s government and the technology companies will be whether the changes agreed on 16 October produce faster, measurable responses to reports from Polish authorities.
The ministry intends to hold further discussions examining why so many reports received no action during the recent school attacks.
It also wants the companies to improve direct contact with police, strengthen moderation procedures and demonstrate that age protections are being enforced.
Questions remain about the government’s 89 reported cases, the different platforms’ responses and the timetable for implementing the new communication arrangements.
Any longer-term restrictions on social-media access will require further legislative decisions, while Poland’s domestic DSA procedures are still progressing through parliament.
For the technology companies, the dispute comes amid increasing European pressure to demonstrate that their existing safety systems can protect vulnerable users during rapidly developing emergencies.
For Poland, the challenge is to improve its response to dangerous and potentially illegal material without treating every disturbing post as a criminal offence or undermining established safeguards for lawful expression.
The school attacks have made that debate especially urgent.
But the significance of Friday’s meeting will ultimately depend on whether the companies and authorities can show that their commitments have led to meaningful improvements in how threats and illegal content are handled.
