Polish surveillance bill draws protests

Thousands of people took part in demonstrations in the Polish capital Warsaw and around 40 other cities across Poland this weekend, in protest of planned changes to surveillance laws by the conservative government.

The marches were held under the slogan “In Defence of your Freedom”, referencing new legislation, proposed by the ruling Law and Justice Party, which would expand government access to digital data and bolster police surveillance.

“Our privacy, intimacy is under threat; we can be followed, watched over both in our homes, and online,” said Mateusz Kijowski, leader of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, in an address to protesters in Warsaw, who numbered approximately 10,000.

Slogans on banners included “You’re supposed to listen, not listen in.” and “Happy New Year 1984”.

The European Union is in the process of carrying out a preliminary assessment into whether this law, together with a controversial media law that would see the government take tighter control of the country’s media, violates EU principles.

Source: BBC and Radio Poland