Cynically exploiting the tragedy for political purposes and expanding a police state
The regulations will strike at those who support “foreign interference and manipulation in the information environment.” Critics warn that this definition is so imprecise that, under the pretext of fighting disinformation, the government will be able to destroy any private individual, social organization, or media critical of the government.
This also means the return of censorship, and in a draconian version reminiscent of the infamous Stalinist times. A social media post critical of the authorities may be classified as acting on behalf of foreign services.
For violating or circumventing the sanctions, administrative penalties of up to 5 million dollars and up to 12 years’ imprisonment are threatened.
In Kraków and throughout Poland, a two-day period of mourning was held for the tragedy in which 6 people were killed (and three from the attacker’s family) and 15 were wounded, yet projects limiting personal freedoms and liberties are already being announced.
They have provoked a wave of criticism from libertarian, right-wing, and civil-rights circles, who accuse the authorities of exploiting a human tragedy to introduce drastic restrictions on personal freedoms. A radical tightening of access to firearms is already being announced, as well as restrictions on the right to assemblies and outdoor events (will this affect the planned huge Independence March on November 11 this year in Warsaw?).
Demands are also being raised for the introduction of advanced facial-recognition systems (AI) in the centers of large cities and the immediate blocking of traffic zones, not to mention the already rampant censorship and control of information on the internet—that is, sanctioned disinformation.
Opposition politicians, including Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik and Janusz Korwin-Mikke, have accused Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of cynically exploiting the tragedy for political purposes and expanding a police state, before investigators had even established the perpetrator’s real motives.