Polish MPs adopt media ownership law slammed by US

WARSAW – Polish MPs on Friday adopted a controversial media law seen by critics as an attempt by the right-wing populist government to silence the US-owned independent news channel TVN24.

The government says the law, which was adopted by a majority in the lower house that overrules opposition in the Senate, will protect Poland’s media landscape from potentially hostile actors such as Russia.

The law will prevent companies from outside the European Economic Area from holding a controlling stake in Polish media companies.

That would force US group Discovery to sell its majority stake in TVN, one of Poland’s biggest private TV networks. TVN24 is its news channel.

“The United States is extremely disappointed by today’s passage of the media bill,” its charge d’affaires in Warsaw, Bix Aliu, said on Twitter.

The Senate, where the opposition has a majority, had voted against the law in September.

The law was initially approved by the lower house in August.

The United States at the time said it was “deeply troubled” by the law and warned about its potential impact on press freedom in Poland and the business climate for foreign investors.

Washington had asked President Andrzej Duda to veto to the bill.

The draft law still has to be signed by Duda to become law.

“We expect President Duda to act in accordance with previous statements to use his leadership to protect free speech and business,” Aliu tweeted Friday.