Press Law Act of January 26, 1984, O. J. 1984 No. 5, item 24 as amended

(1) Definitions. According to Article 7 para 2 pt 2 of the Press Law Act press is defined as “any and all existing and emerging in the course of technological advancement means of mass media, including broadcasting stations and television and radio broadcasting systems installed in facilities that distribute periodically publications via print, image, sound or any other broadcasting means” allowing to qualify all periodical online publications as press, resulting in editorial liability for service providers. The terms “publications” and “periodical” have no legal definitions therefore their  dictionary definitions apply, with “publications” referring to all content enabled publicly and “periodically” designating content updated within certain amounts of time. In the context of Article 7 para 2 pt 1, which explicitly qualifies press as printed publications published within less than one year, it may be argued that online publications updated at least once a year fall within that category. A “press release” is defined in Article 7 as any information, data or image that appears or is designated to appear in the press. 

(2) Media and Publishers Liability. Editorial liability is defined in Article 37 of the Press Law Act, which states that the “responsibility for harm caused by rights injured due to the publishing of a press release shall be set according to general rules, unless the Act states differently." Individual standards for editorial liability are defined in Article 38 of the Press Law Act, which provides for joint and several civil liability for damage caused by publishing a press release of “the author, editor or any other person, who had caused for that press material to be published”, including the publisher. The Press Law Act defines an editor as a journalist who decides or co-decides on the publication of a press release, enabling  for the qualification of content providers but also hosting providers as publishers.

(3) Registration. The Press Law Act creates two categories of press: daily newspapers and periodicals, where the former is defined as a general-information periodical in print or sound or sound and vision message published more frequently than once a week, and the latter as a periodical print published at least once a year but not more frequently than once a week, as well as messages broadcast by means of sound or sound and vision and any other means. Publishers who must register their publications or face fines. According to a widely criticized 2007 Supreme Court interpretation of the Press Law Act, concerning the electronic periodical "szyciepoprzemysku," any electronic press avaliable on-line must be registered. (see case State Prosecutor v. Norbert Z. & Tomasz K below).