Poland: Social media giants are "silent allies" of Russian bots

Poland has accused major social media platforms of effectively abetting Russian disinformation, threatening financial penalties after concluding that companies failed to act on the bulk of reports about fake accounts and malign campaigns. The Digital Affairs Minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, called platforms “silent allies” of Russian bots and GRU intelligence after data from the NASK research institute showed that, during the first half of 2026, more than 65,000 user reports produced action in fewer than a quarter of cases: deletions or account removals occurred in about 7% of reports and other moderation measures in just over 17%. Tech firms named in the dispute include Discord, Google, Meta, X, Telegram and TikTok, which had not provided substantive responses to authorities.

Gawkowski demanded Polish-speaking moderation teams able to communicate with officials in real time, immediate takedowns of identified bot networks, faster responses to violations and reformed appeals processes, warning that each unmet request would trigger proceedings to levy fines. The move mirrors broader European concern about Kremlin-linked influence operations designed to sow division and destabilize democracies, a charge Moscow rejects. Separately, Ukrainian strikes on several Yandex data centers between October 8-11 were followed by a sharp fall in automated Russian online traffic, though whether that directly disrupted propaganda operations has not been definitively proven.