Internet censorship regulations as a tool for restricting freedom of speech. Actions taken by the European Commission and Polish legislators

Vollständiger Abstract

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The article focuses on the issue of Internet censorship as a tool limiting freedom of speech in the context of the activities of the European Commission and the Polish legislature. The first section discusses the importance of freedom of speech for civil society and its guarantees in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. This is followed by an analysis of the threats to such freedom in the European Union and Poland, namely attempts to ideologise so-called 'hate speech' and expand its parameters, censorship of online content, and attempts to create types of offences with vague and fluid characteristics. The paper refers to a report prepared by the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives, which discusses the censorship of content by the European Commission. The study concludes with a summary of how the trend towards increasing control over communication and the flow of information in cyberspace can be counteracted.