In Poland, we have seen another concerning story develop. Twitter revealed the personal conversations of Bart Staszewski, an LGBTI+ activist, based on politically motivated accusations of Polish right-wing government officials.

Bart has been a vocal critic of the Polish government’s discriminatory and anti-LGBTQI+ politics. In the last few years, he has been under constant attack from top officials in the Polish government in an attempt to silence his efforts towards equality and freedom of expression.

In September 2023, at an event on encryption, Bart shared that he does not trust Polish politicians, underlying that queer people have no rights in Poland. Speaking about his personal experience of being surveilled by the state, he emphasised that the right to privacy is essential for protecting oneself and the movement.

In 2023, Bart discovered that the Polish state asked the US Department of Justice to request Twitter to share his private messages. The current legal mechanisms for cross-border exchange of data make it hardly possible for Twitter, now X, to detect the motivations behind such a request.

The consequences for Bart are losing his safe, digital space to exchange experiences and discuss personal and political matters.