Court to rule on status of portals
2007-05-10
The district court in Slupsk is to decide whether internet portals should be registered in accordance with the procedure to which newspapers are subject. The hearing follows an appeal lodged by the owner of Gazetabytowska.pl, a local internet portal, against a ruling which stated that a portal should be subject to the regulations which pertain to newspapers.
The portal’s owner was accused of failing to register the website and for allowing the publication of content which breached the law. In March 2007 the court ruled that comments posted by the portal’s users should be regarded as content in a publication and that the editor should, therefore, be responsible for their content. Furthermore, it stated that the portal should be registered as a newspaper. The owner of Gazetabytowska.pl would like the ruling to be overturned and the registration procedure abandoned. An appeal has also been lodged by the prosecutor’s office.
The ruling will set a precedent. The portal’s owner is being supported by NGOs which actively support the freedom of the press.