A debate was held today during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the European Commission’s decision to impose a multibillion-euro fine on Google. Officially, the motivation was said to be the protection of press freedom and media pluralism in the European Union; however, according to a PiS MEP who spoke during the debate, this is merely an attempt to weaken an inconvenient giant.
During her speech, PiS MEP Małgorzata Gosiewska sharply criticized the Commission’s decision, pointing to its political underpinnings and lack of consistency. “The decision to impose a fine on Google is an example of a troubling trend—penalizing success instead of supporting innovation. Google has earned its position through technological superiority and services used daily by millions of Europeans. So is this really about protecting media pluralism, or is it an attempt to weaken an inconvenient giant?” Gosiewska asked from the podium.
The MEP pointed out that for years, the European Commission had taken no real action against Twitter (now X), even though the platform—in her view—had a clearly left-wing bias and influenced public debate by removing content and accounts that did not align with the dominant narrative. “You only reacted after Elon Musk took over the service and liberalized its content policy—that’s when threats of billion-dollar fines and blocks emerged,” she emphasized.
Gosiewska accused the European Commission of applying double standards. “When it comes to companies like Google or Amazon, you react immediately, but when it comes to left-wing platforms, you limit yourselves to purely symbolic gestures. Is this an expression of concern for media balance, or rather a fear of losing ideological influence?” she asked.
In her remarks, she also addressed the situation in Poland, criticizing the Commission’s lack of response to the current government led by Donald Tusk’s actions against public media. “Where was the European Commission’s stance when Tusk’s government forcibly took over public media? What did the Commission do then? Nothing, ladies and gentlemen. Nothing,” she said.
At the end of her speech, Gosiewska emphasized that the decision to penalize Google does not serve to protect media pluralism, but rather deepens bureaucratic control and ideological favoritism. “Instead of being a space of freedom and innovation, Europe increasingly resembles a censor afraid of real competition—including ideological competition,” she concluded.
