The subject of this publication is the classification of the companies Telewizja Polsat Sp. z o.o. and TVN S.A. as entities subject to protection within the meaning of the Act on the Control of Certain Investments of 24 July 2015. This classification of media companies is questionable. Polsat and TVN were included in the government’s list declaratorily on account of their telecommunications activities (broadcasting of programmes), rather than their core media activities (creation of audiovisual content). Meanwhile, an implementing regulation should be issued on the basis of a specific authorisation and must not go beyond the scope of the Act. Furthermore, the publication compares national solutions with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The EMFA prohibits state interference in media content, whereas making a change in control over a media service provider dependent on a decision by an executive authority (the Minister of State Assets) may violate the principle of media independence. Furthermore, EU standards emphasise the transparency of media service providers’ ownership structures, which should be a permanent feature of monitoring rather than an ad hoc intervention by the government. The conclusions of the publication are as follows: the state’s instruments of control over the activities of media companies should be defined in an act, be objectively justified, proportionate and non-discriminatory, and should be linked to the constitutional status and powers of the National Broadcasting Council, rather than to a constitutional minister.