Poland summoned Google, Meta and other internet companies, saying two-thirds of 89 cases of illegal content related to school attacks it flagged from October 7 to October 12 prompted no action. The government is fast-tracking legislation to make damaging content easier and quicker to remove.
Poland summoned representatives of Google, Meta, TikTok, Discord and Telegram to the Digital Affairs Ministry, demanding stronger efforts to curb violent content after three school attacks in four days triggered online threats. X was invited but did not attend.
Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Poland flagged 89 cases of illegal content related to the attacks between October 7 and October 12, and companies took no action in two-thirds of cases. He said users should not be exposed to content endorsing or encouraging criminal threats, suicide, murder, physical harm or mutilation. The government is fast-tracking legislation to make damaging content easier and quicker to remove.
Thousands of police were sent to schools this week after the attacks and online threats left pupils and teachers fearing for their safety. The latest stabbing was on Saturday at a Warsaw college, where three people were injured; an October 8 attack killed a school caretaker and wounded two teachers, and a 19-year-old injured 10 people at a school the previous day.
