Polish minister accuses Meta of censorship in deepfake scam dispute

Poland's Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski has accused Meta of censorship after the Instagram account of Polish billionaire and InPost founder Rafal Brzoska was temporarily blocked amid his criticism of fraudulent AI-generated advertisements using his image.

"This is censorship in its darkest form," Gawkowski said, accusing Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of profiting from advertisements that use stolen identities while shifting responsibility onto anonymous advertisers.

Brzoska's Instagram account was blocked shortly after he publicly criticized Meta over a new fraudulent Facebook advertisement featuring an AI-generated image of him in handcuffs surrounded by police. His account was later restored.

Gawkowski said the dispute went beyond the interests of one businessman.

"This is a matter of the safety of millions of Poles who can lose their savings through fraudulent advertisements, deepfakes and fake investments," he said, adding that Meta had the technology and resources to prevent such content from appearing.

Brzoska's wife Omenaa Mensah has also previously taken legal action against Meta over fake advertisements that used her name and images to promote nonexistent investment schemes.

In 2024, Poland's data protection authority ordered Meta to temporarily halt advertisements using Brzoska's personal data after he complained that deepfake material was being distributed without adequate verification.

Earlier this year, a Polish court ruled in Brzoska's favor in his continuing dispute with Meta over responsibility for fraudulent advertisements.

Gawkowski said Poland would seek to hold large online platforms responsible for the safety of their users and said his ministry was preparing new legislation intended to implement EU rules governing digital platforms.

Meta did not immediately publicly respond to Gawkowski's accusations.