Polish minister accuses Meta of 'darkest' censorship in…

Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski has publicly accused Meta of censorship following the temporary suspension of billionaire Rafal Brzoska’s Instagram account. The incident occurred shortly after Brzoska criticized the tech giant for allowing fraudulent advertisements that utilized AI-generated imagery to impersonate him.

What happened

The dispute centers on the proliferation of AI-generated content used in online investment scams. Rafal Brzoska, founder of InPost, has been a frequent target of these fraudulent advertisements, which have included deepfake material such as a digitally altered image depicting him in handcuffs surrounded by police. Brzoska and his wife, Omenaa Mensah, have previously pursued legal action against Meta regarding the use of their identities to promote nonexistent investment schemes.

Following Brzoska’s public criticism of Meta regarding these advertisements, his Instagram account was briefly blocked, drawing sharp condemnation from Minister Gawkowski. The minister labeled the action as censorship in its darkest form, arguing that Meta profits from advertisements using stolen identities while failing to adequately protect users.

This conflict is part of an ongoing legal and regulatory tension between Polish authorities and the platform. In 2024, the Polish data protection authority ordered Meta to halt advertisements using Brzoska’s personal data due to concerns over the distribution of unverified deepfake material. Furthermore, a Polish court previously ruled in favor of Brzoska in his dispute regarding platform responsibility for fraudulent content. Minister Gawkowski indicated that the government intends to pursue new legislation to implement EU rules, aiming to hold large digital platforms accountable for user safety and the prevention of deceptive AI-generated material.