Poland has still not fully implemented the provisions of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), although the deadline expired in February 2024. The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against Poland for the failure to comply with its obligations under the DSA. Poland remains one of the last Member States which have not adopted national regulations allowing to enforce the new rules.

First step – the Coordinator for digital services was appointed 

On 15 May this year, the resolution of the Council of Ministers came into force, pursuant to which the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) was temporarily entrusted with the function of the Digital Services Coordinator under the DSA. The new role of the UKE President is temporary. The purpose of the resolution of the Council of Ministers is to implement certain provisions of the DSA, among others: Article 33(6), Article 35(3) or Article 62(1) of the DSA. The appointment of the UKE President as the Digital Services Coordinator is aimed at fulfilling Poland’s specific technical and organisational obligations under the DSA, before the national law ensuring the application of this regulation comes into force.

Importantly, at this point, the UKE President will not have the right to make decisions towards intermediate service providers and users. The full scope of competence of the Digital Services Coordinator will be defined in a separate Act which is currently being drafted.

The UKE President, as Digital Services Coordinator, will participate in the work of the European Digital Services Board, which brings together coordinators from other EU countries.

Lack of the Act of Law ensuring due application of the DSA 

Poland has still not adopted the Act of law aimed, among others, at:

  1. establishing an oversight mechanism for intermediary service providers, including online platforms, 
  1. determining the rules for the imposition of penalties on entities violating EU regulations,
  1. defining the procedure of administrative decision-making and appeal procedures. 

Without such solutions, it is not possible to effectively enforce the DSA or provide internet users with real protection against the harmful practices of digital platforms.

One of the most questionable elements of the draft Act includes the provisions to introduce the national mechanism for issuing injunctions to block illegal content. The Ministry of Digital Affairs is analysing the scope of potential blocking injunctions, their legal basis and appeal mechanisms to avoid the risk of abuse and to ensure the compliance with constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.