Poles rise up against media law described as ‘gagging democracy’

The law poses a particular threat to US-owned broadcaster TVN, in a move which will alienate a key ally, writes William Nattrass

Protesters display posters in support of the independent broadcaster TVN during a demonstration in Warsaw (AP)

Poles fear for the future of free debate in their country due to a new media law which opposition politicians have described as a “gagging of democracy”.

Protests against the law are being held today in nearly 80 Polish towns. The largest of the demonstrations will take place in front of the Sejm in Warsaw and will be attended by Donald Tusk, the leader of the Polish opposition.

The bill submitted to parliament by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party would prevent non-European owners from holding majority shares in Polish media companies. This is seen as a way of imposing greater controls on Polish media, drawing comparisons with the level of press control wielded by Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary.

The law poses a particular threat to TVN, a popular US-owned broadcaster critical of the government, whose licence is due to expire on 26 September.

This law follows threats to the public media, the judiciary and various other areas of life. I am not going to tell scare stories of what may happen next – but we really are on the verge of dictatorship

Jakub Karys, organiser at Committee for the Defence of Democracy

US company Discovery Inc. has a controlling stake in TVN, which it would be forced to sell in order for the broadcaster to keep operating if the law is passed by parliament.

A protest organiser from the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD), Jakub Karys, explained the motivation behind the nationwide protests.

“Free media means free people, and free people means a free Poland,” Karys said.

“This law follows threats to the public media, the judiciary and various other areas of life. I am not going to tell scare stories of what may happen next – but we really are on the verge of dictatorship,” he claimed.

TVN is one of Poland’s most well-respected news sources, employing nearly a thousand people and watched by millions every day.

PiS politicians think the Biden administration doesn’t treat Poland with enough respect, so they don’t think they have much to lose

Małgorzata Bonikowska, president of the Polish Centre for International Relations

While the Polish government faces EU criticism over perceived attempts to undermine the independence of the country’s judiciary, it is feared the removal of a state-critical broadcaster will be another backwards step in the erosion of free debate in the country.

“Since the very beginning of the PiS government in 2015, the party has aimed to control all of the Polish media in one way or another,” Malgorzata Bonikowska, president of the Polish Centre for International Relations, told The Independent.

“They want to make the situation in Poland the same as that in Hungary, following Viktor Orban’s example,” she added.

PiS justifies the media law on grounds of national security. They claim tighter controls over media ownership are needed to stop companies being bought by “an entity from Russia, China, or an Arab country”.

The government also argues that the law will bring the country into line with other European nations such as France and Germany, which also limit foreign media ownership.

Yet the question arises as to why the Polish government also seems willing to alienate the US – traditionally the country’s most valued ally – in the pursuit of greater media control.

TVN is one of the largest ever US investments in Poland, bought by Scripps Network Interactive in 2015 before being sold to Discovery in 2018.

A joint statement from a bipartisan group of US senators last week warned the Polish government that “any decision to implement these laws could have negative implications for defence, business and trade relations.”

“This legislation, coupled with Poland’s refusal to renew the licence for TVN, continues a troubling trajectory for Poland’s democracy,” they said.

Polish relations with the US have cooled since Joe Biden became president (AP)

It is thought Joe Biden’s arrival as president may be responsible for the cooling of Polish-American relations, after close ties were built between PiS and his predecessor Donald Trump.

“Government action against TVN would have started earlier, but PiS’s friendship with Mr Trump stopped it,” says Bonikowska.

“Once Mr Biden took over as president, PiS decided to finalise the issue, as they don’t agree with Biden’s policy and no longer feel any obligation towards the Americans,” she added.

PiS’s partners in Poland’s ruling United Right coalition are clearly uneasy about the implications of the law, though, arguing ownership from countries such as the US should still be allowed.

In an indication of the new frostiness in Polish-American relations, PiS dismissed the notion as “ridiculous”.

“PiS politicians think the Biden administration doesn’t treat Poland with enough respect, so they don’t think they have much to lose,” said Bonikowska. “In fact, they hope that the US might start to treat Poland better if they see the need to negotiate with the Polish government.”

Whether or not this high-risk strategy proves successful won’t, however, placate protesters who see in the new media law a fundamental threat to Polish democracy. And as the PiS government continues to draw international criticism for undermining freedom of speech, it risks alienating allies on both sides of the Atlantic.