WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Council of Ministers on Tuesday endorsed a proposed national law that would require sites and platforms to age-verify users to prevent minors from accessing adult content online.
Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Michał Gramatyka called the proposed Act on the Protection of Minors Against Access to Pornographic Content “crucial.”
“Websites containing such content are currently not effectively protected against access, often accidental, by minors,” Gramatyka said.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the bill “does not impose specific technical solutions on providers, but rather specifies which age verification mechanisms are recommended.”
The ministry is advocating for the use of the European Digital Identity Wallet in implementing new AV requirements, explained Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Dariusz Standerski.
“We plan to launch secure and anonymous age verification by the end of 2026,” Standerski said.
Under the proposed new law, telecommunications companies would be required to block access to sites that fail to comply with age verification requirements. Noncompliant sites could also face financial penalties.
The bill must still make its way through Poland’s parliament, as well as gain the approval of President Karol Nawrocki, who earlier this year vetoed a bill that would have implemented the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) in Poland, including the DSA's age verification provisions.
Poland has lagged behind other EU states in conforming to DSA requirements and may face punitive action from the European Commission over its failure to enforce DSA rules.