On the second day of the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs debated the need to strengthen the Digital Services Act (DSA) as a tool for protecting democracy on social media platforms. PiS MEPs Piotr Müller, Adam Bielan, and Tobiasz Bocheński took part in the discussion.
“When I listen to the statements in this debate, I have no doubt that democracy and freedom of speech in Europe are indeed under threat,” stated Piotr Müller, noting that this is happening “for reasons entirely different from those cited by the left wing of the political spectrum.”. “You want to play Big Brother, a censor who will decide what is true and what is not,” said the MEP. He also noted that, in reality, this discussion concerns ways to introduce mechanisms of preventive censorship, which were all too familiar during the communist era in Eastern Europe. “You don’t want to let people decide for themselves, based on facts, what is true and what isn’t—instead of the ready-made solution you want to serve up on the Internet,” argued Piotr Müller.
Adam Bielan noted with concern that during the discussion on the Digital Services Act, there have been attempts to relativize freedom of speech. In this regard, he reiterated that freedom of speech is a fundamental human right. “Without the freedom to express one’s views, there is no democracy. That is why totalitarian regimes create Ministries of Truth, extensive censorship systems, and silence their citizens,” said the Member of the European Parliament.
The Polish politician noted that, unlike most of those present at the debate, he was born in a totalitarian country and remembers very well that the communists “feared nothing more, and fought against nothing more, than freedom of speech.”
“I am horrified to hear how those currently in power in my country, as well as many European officials, are calling for the reestablishment of a censorship system; they want to ban the operations of inconvenient television stations and social media platforms, and to fire people or imprison them for online posts,” said the MEP, noting that this is nothing other than “the realization of the communists’ nightmarish visions.” He also noted that the DSA was intended to strengthen citizens’ position in conflicts with platform owners, not to restrict their freedom of expression. “Democracy dies with censorship, which is why I believe Europeans will not agree to this,” stated Adam Bielan.
“It is you, left-wing lawmakers, and you, bureaucrats, who are destroying freedom of speech, which is the foundation of European civilization,” stated Tobiasz Bocheński. As an example, he cited opinions circulating in the European Parliament that Elon Musk is a fascist. In this regard, he pointed out that the CEO of X has established unlimited, unrestricted freedom of speech on his platform. “You fail to see the illogicality of your statements and are imposing censorship, yet freedom of speech, which is unlimited, requires no control whatsoever,” said the MEP, emphasizing that controlled freedom is not freedom. He also pointed out that some people fail to realize that fact-checking and imposed community standards are tools of propaganda and censorship. “You fear the truth, you fear freedom, but above all, you fear that the peoples of Europe will write and say what they think, because that would undermine the foundation of your false bureaucracy and your power, which you are defending here—for you are not defending freedom in any sense,” stated the PiS MEP.
