Independent media outlets in Poland suspended news coverage on Wednesday to protest a planned new advertising tax that they view as an attempt by the right-wing government to undermine press freedoms.
The government says the tax will raise money after state finances have been badly strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
A letter signed by 45 media companies said the tax would be extremely burdensome, noting that they already pay many taxes, and said it could push some to collapse.
“We strongly oppose the use of the epidemic as an excuse to introduce another new, exceptionally heavy burden on the media,” they wrote.
The US threw its support behind the media companies, with Chargé d’Affaires Bix Aliu calling free media “a cornerstone of democracy” in a tweet and saying “the United States will always defend media independence.”
Gazeta Wyborcza, the country’s leading newspaper and a liberal critic of the populist government, called the advertising tax “a powerful blow to free media.” In place of the usual news items on its webpage was a black screen and a warning that if the tax is passed, it could lead readers to one day lose access to independent news.