International media freedom groups warned the law posed a serious threat to media pluralism.

 

2021 was a pivotal year for media freedom in Poland, as the government continued its multi-pronged efforts to weaken critical and independent media. The MapMF re‐corded 24 violations of media freedom, including 42 attacked persons or entities related to the media. The major flashpoint was the effort by the Law and Justice (PiS) party to pass a controversial media ownership law that would have forced the sale of U.S owned TVN, the country’s largest broadcaster and a long critic of the ruling party. The bill was eventually vetoed by President Duda following inter‐ national condemnation and high-level U.S pressure, puncturing PiS’ legislative plans. However, new SLAPP lawsuits and seri‐ ous criminal sanctions and a media black‐ out caused by a government-imposed state of emergency at the Belarusian bor‐ der posed serious challenges. 

Systematic legal harassment of independent media in Poland continued in 2021, as PiS officials and their allies continued efforts to bury critical outlets un‐ der an avalanche of costly and time-con‐ suming court battles. Many of these law‐ suits were registered by the MapMF as SLAPPS. In March, the Prosecutor-Gen‐ eral of Poland, who is also the Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, filed a lawsuit against Adam Michnik, the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, over an investigative report about his salary written by two of the newspaper’s journalists. The same month, the R4S public relations agency, co-founded by a former PiS spokesperson, filed a criminal complaint about OKO .press, Gazeta Wyborcza, and Reporters' Foundation's journalists with the prosecutor's office. Also in March, the editorsin-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, Wyborcza.pl and Agora S.A. and two journalists were sued by Daniel Obajtek, the chief executive of PKN Orlen, one of the biggest state-owned oil companies. 

Journalists faced other forms of legal pressure. In October, police officers searched the house of Gazeta Wyborcza reporter Piotr Bakselerowicz without a warrant and confiscated his work laptop and phone. In October 2021, the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk questioned journalist Katarzyna Włodkowska in connection with her reporting about the investigation into the fatal stabbing of the Gdańsk mayor Paweł Adamowicz in January 2019. She was previously ordered to reveal her source for the article but refused, leaving her facing a possible crim inal conviction for protecting her source. In November 2021, Ewa Siedlecka, a journalist at weekly news magazine Polityka, was convicted of criminal de‐ famation by the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście in the Polish capital over her reporting on two judges. The centrepiece of PiS’s attack on critical media in 2021 was the so-called Lex TVN. On 7 July, PiS MPs submitted a draft bill to parliament which would bar companies which are majority-owned by entities from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) from owning more than a 49% stake in Polish broadcasters. Critics had warned that the bill, laterad opted by Poland’s parliament on December 17, was aimed solely at forcing the sale of U.S-owned news channel TVN24, which broadcast the country’s mostwatched news programme, Fakty, and have long held a critical editorial stance towards PiS. International media freedom groups warned the law posed a serious threat to media pluralism. On 27 December, the President announced he would veto the bill, following strong pressure from the U.S. and EU. The draft law was the latest example of a longerterm push towards the “repolonization” of the media by PiS. The manipulation of regulatory bodies against the media by PiS loyalists re‐ mained a concern. At the beginning of the year, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), Poland’s competition regulator, blocked the merger of radio broadcaster Eurozet by media house Agora SA, ruling the acquisition would create a “harmful duopoly” in the Polish radio market. Agora denounced the decision as a selective and politically mo‐ tivated move by the regulator, which is under the effective control of PiS, to sty‐ mie its business interests. Other efforts to tighten the screws on independent media included a proposed new advertising tax that was eventually dropped after sustained protests. State resources, mean‐ while, continued to be weaponised to starve certain media of public advertising revenue and dampen critical reporting at others. After the takeover in March 2021 of regional publisher Polska Press by state-controlled oil giant PKN Orlen, a total of eight editors-in-chief were dismissed or pushed out, with more following later and other editors and journalists at Polska Press titles resigning. 

Towards the end of the year, multiple MapMF alerts were documented related to the state of emergency imposed at the Polish border with Belarus. The measure limited the ability of journalists and aid workers to enter the restricted area and prohibited the taking of photographs or video footage of the border. Those con‐ victed of violating the state of emergency faced up to 30 days in prison or a fine of up to 5,000 Polish złoty. Multiple journalists, both national and foreign, who were trying to cover the humanitarian crisis faced arbitrary detentions and intimidation by law enforcement and the military near the restricted zone. In September 2021, police filed two criminal chargesagainst Onet journalist Bartłomiej Bublewicz and his camera operator for allegedly reporting from inside the restricted zone. On 28 September, three journalists from French-German ARTE TV and Agence France-Presse (AFP) were arrested by police near the border, held in a cell overnight and then found guilty of violating the regulations. On 16 November, three photojournalists reporting from near the border were detained and handcuffed by individuals wearing the uniforms of the Polish Army