Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Friday signed into law legislation introducing criminal penalties for so-called “trash streaming,” a form of online broadcasting that features violent, abusive or degrading acts performed to attract viewers and generate profit.
According to a statement posted by the President’s Office on X, the new law makes it a criminal offence to publicly distribute online content for financial or personal gain that depicts serious crimes, animal abuse or the degrading treatment of another person, even if the individual involved has consented.
Those convicted under the new legislation face up to three years in prison, while livestreams showing or staging more serious crimes may carry sentences of up to five years.
The legislation targets the practice known in Poland as “patostreaming” — a term combining “pathological” and “streaming” — referring to livestreams or videos featuring shocking, dangerous or humiliating behaviour designed to attract large online audiences and generate advertising revenue or donations.
The practice has sparked growing concern over its impact on young viewers and the commercialisation of violence and abuse.
Welcoming the new law, Konrad Ciesiolkiewicz, deputy head of the State Commission for Counteracting Child Sexual Abuse, said it marked “the end of accepting the building of popularity by humiliating others.”
He also urged Poland to swiftly complete implementation of the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which requires online platforms to more effectively remove illegal content.