Piotr Müller made the remark at a news conference in Warsaw on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Under the proposed new electronic communications bill, the sequence of TV channels on a remote control would be partly fixed, with the first five buttons reserved for state broadcaster TVP, news outlets reported.
This has led to criticism from local and private media, as well as some consumer organisations, who say the new rules would undermine competition and restrict access to private, local and niche outlets, according to the money.pl website.
A consultation meeting on the new electronic communications bill, for the public and stakeholders, was held in Poland's parliament on Monday.
‘Every citizen can decide for themselves which TV channel to choose’
Müller told reporters: “This bill is being processed because it is part of bringing Polish law into line with European Union regulations, namely the establishment of the European Electronics Communications Code.”
He said: “Obviously, not all provisions of this bill flow from EU regulations, but it is a comprehensive piece of legislation related to this EU issue.”
The government spokesman added that the draft legislation “regulates consumer rights, such as the right of subscribers to get their money back from prepaid cards for telecommunications services.”
“The electronic-communication bill contains a multitude of various provisions for the protection of consumers,” he told the news conference.
Referring to criticisms of the draft legislation, Müller said: “Every citizen can decide for themselves which TV channel to choose, so creating an emotional atmosphere around these proposals seems to me to be incompatible with the provisions that are really in the bill.”
Media regulator to name channels that must be broadcast
The new bill is part of Poland’s drive to implement "Directive 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council,” establishing the European Electronic Communications Code, according to officials.
In addition to reserving the first five buttons of the remote for state TV channels, the bill also states that media regulator KRRiTV will name 30 channels that must be broadcast, apart from the TVP channels, the PAP news agency reported.
Access to data from messaging apps
Also under the bill, all electronic communication companies will be obliged to share data with state security agencies and create the conditions for these agencies to conduct “operational control” activities.
The state agencies that would be allowed access to data from messaging apps such as Messenger or WhatsApp include the Military Counter-Intelligence Service (SKW), the Military Intelligence Service (SWW) and the Intelligence Agency (AW).
Under another provision, the electronic communications regulator (UKE) “upon justified request from an authorised entity, will immediately order a given electronic communications company, to block, within six hours of receiving the order, the calls or electronic messages sent through a publicly available telecommunications service, if these calls or messages may endanger the defence and security of the country, as well as public security and order; or to allow such blockade to be imposed by authorised entities,” the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, money.pl, rp.pl