Poland's Minister of Digital Affairs has called on the European Commission to impose a €250 million ($291.3 million) fine on Meta over fraudulent and harmful content on its platforms. In a social media post on Thursday, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said he expected the Commission to move quickly to impose the fine. “This Wild West on the platform must end,” he said. The European Commission later confirmed it had received Gawkowski’s request and said evidence submitted by Poland would be considered as part of an ongoing investigation into Meta. “We will certainly examine all this evidence and take it into account in our investigation,” Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told the Polish state news agency, PAP. ‘A very serious problem’ The Commission is already investigating Meta under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s landmark online-safety law, including over illegal content such as deepfakes. Regnier said Brussels had preliminarily found Meta in breach of the rules. “Fraudulent advertisements and deepfakes of this kind are, of course, a very serious problem and we take it seriously,” Regnier said. Gawkowski also called on Meta to “immediately introduce effective tools to eliminate scams, false advertising and the promotion of illegal applications.” “Inaction and failure to effectively combat harmful advertisements and fraudulent content targeting Polish users will not be tolerated,” he added. The issue of deepfake content on Meta-owned social media platforms gained renewed attention this week after a fake video using an AI-generated version of Polish President Karol Nawrocki to advertise a fraudulent investment program reportedly began circulating on Facebook. Last week, Polish billionaire Rafał Brzoska, founder of parcel delivery company InPost, criticized similar practices involving the unauthorized use of his image and called for action against fraudulent content published on platforms operated by the US tech giant. ‘More than enough evidence’ In a post on X on Thursday, Gawkowski published the first page of a letter dated August 26 addressed to Henna Virkkunen, European Commission’s Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “The scale of this phenomenon points to a significant problem with the way advertising works on one of the largest online platforms in the European single market,” the letter said. “Despite repeated reports from Polish authorities and cybersecurity teams, Meta has failed to take effective action against fraudulent advertisements,” it added. Gawkowski said there was “more than enough evidence” to justify action against the company. ‘Complex challenge’ Last week, Gawkowski sent a separate letter to Meta urging the company to take steps to curb fraudulent advertising. Poland’s Digital Affairs Ministry published Meta’s response on Wednesday, in which the company said combating fraudulent advertising was “one of the most complex challenges currently facing digital ecosystems,” requiring continued cooperation between platforms, governments and law enforcement agencies. Meta said it had removed around 137,000 ads originating in Poland between July 2025 and June 2026 for violating its policies on fraud and scams. More than 88% were removed before being reported by users. Gawkowski said he was not satisfied with the response, arguing that the company had failed to present convincing and effective measures to protect users. Brussels criticizes Warsaw While welcoming Poland’s evidence against Meta, the European Commission also criticized Warsaw for failing to fully implement the Digital Services Act. Regnier said Poland had yet to fully empower its national Digital Services Coordinator, the authority responsible for enforcing the rules at national level. “To properly enforce the DSA, we also rely on member states and in this case we have a serious problem with Poland,” he said. Poland is among a small group of EU countries still facing infringement proceedings over incomplete implementation of the law. The Commission referred Poland to the EU Court of Justice in May 2025 over its failure to fully empower a national coordinator. The issue has also become a domestic political dispute. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed legislation implementing the DSA in January, arguing that it would introduce “administrative censorship.” Meta faces potential EU fine The Commission opened proceedings against Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram under the DSA in May 2024. In October 2025, it preliminarily found Meta in breach of provisions concerning researchers’ access to data and mechanisms allowing users to report illegal content. The Commission has since raised further concerns, including over children under 13 using Facebook and Instagram and features it says could encourage addictive behavior. The findings remain preliminary, and Meta has an opportunity to respond. If the Commission ultimately finds the company in breach of the DSA, it can impose a fine of up to 6% of Meta’s total annual worldwide turnover. Landmark US settlement The EU scrutiny comes as Meta also faces regulatory and legal pressure in the United States. On Wednesday, Meta agreed to pay fines of up to $18 billion over the next decade and strictly limit how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram under a settlement with nearly all US states resolving claims that the company designed its social media platforms to addict children. Additional reporting by Ammar Anwer
