Poland is working to strengthen security on the Internet and is in talks with social networks in anticipation of increased cyberattacks before the presidential elections in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
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The so-called "election umbrella" is designed to protect the voting process from any external interference, said Gawkowski, who is also the Minister for Digital Affairs. The Polish government wants social networks to help if attacks intensify closer to the May 18 vote, he added.
Warsaw is on high alert after allegations of foreign interference in Romania's presidential election last year led to an unprecedented Supreme Court decision to cancel the vote and order a rerun. Gawkowski said he was confident that the security services would be able to prevent such attempts at interference in Poland.
The stakes are high as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hopes his ally, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Tszaskowski, will be the next president and help the government continue to implement its agenda after nearly a decade of nationalist rule, the publication writes.
Gawkowski said his ministry is in constant contact with the election teams of individual presidential candidates. He also met twice with representatives of companies including Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which have the power to stop disinformation attempts such as "troll farms".
"Disinformation happens every day," Gawkowski said in an interview with Bloomberg. So-called "troll farms" that can spread disinformation through multiple fake accounts or profiles can be activated shortly before election day, the minister said. "That's what we need to pay attention to," he said.
In January, authorities warned that they were observing organized actions and provocations aimed at destabilizing the elections, including attempts to recruit individuals to spread disinformation.
But Poland has not seen any cases of foreign support for candidates, similar to that made by Elon Musk during the parliamentary elections in Germany last month, where the billionaire openly supported the far-right AfD party, the publication writes.
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"Everyone can say what they want about the Polish elections, but it is important that they do not interfere," Gawkowski said. - This means not setting algorithms and not allowing illegal financing. We don't see anything like this today.
