Hungary: HCLU calls on European Commission to take action over new legislation banning Pride
A recent amendment adds to Hungary’s anti-LGBTQI propaganda law, and allows for the blanket use of facial recognition technology to identify those who attend Pride or related events.
Hungary: A looming crackdown on independent media?
In recent weeks, Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party have drastically ramped up rhetoric against media and CSOs that receive any form of foreign funding, and pledged to draft new legislation to protect national sovereignty.
Poland: HCLU and other groups intervene in Pegasus case before ECtHR
The Brejza v Poland case centres on the surveillance of Polish opposition politician Krzysztof Brejza, whose phone was monitored for years using Pegasus spyware, and whose private information was used against him during an election campaign.
EU needs to urgently protect civic space in Hungary
The EU should accelerate legal action against Hungary and seek the suspension of the repressive Law on the Protection of National Sovereignty.
Hungary: Constraining media freedom, undermining access to information
“The Hungarian government’s interference with media freedom and pluralism, part of its systematic attack on the rule of law, obstructs the work of independent journalists in holding the authorities to account and prevents the public from accessing information” – HRW
Hungary passes controversial ‘Sovereignty Protection Act’
Leading editors and journalists from independent press in Hungary warn that the law could be used to make life more difficult for those media critical of the government.
Hungary: Draft Sovereignty Protection Act poses fresh threat to independent media
“The proposed law would effectively open the door to state-sponsored pressure on those media which receive foreign funding and produce journalism critical of the government” – MFRR partners
Hungary’s “defence of sovereignty” bill is an attempt to stifle dissent
“This legislation, reminiscent of the stigmatising 2017 LexNGO and the 2018 Stop Soros laws, is yet another affront to Hungary’s constitutional, international, and EU commitments” – HCLU
Cyberattack on IPI: Evidence points to retaliation for press freedom work in Hungary
In early September, a series of DDoS attacks took the International Press Institute’s (IPI) website offline. Although the website is back online, IPI continues to face cyberattacks.
Hungary: DDoS attacks pose major new threat to media freedom
Since April 2023, at least 40 media websites – predominantly ones that are critical of the government – have faced Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
Hungary: Media freedom groups welcome EU court referral over Klubrádió frequency
“This decision by the EU’s executive body to take Hungary to court over the alleged breach in EU telecoms rules regarding Klubrádió’s frequency licence is a belated but important signal that the Commission is increasingly willing to use the tools available to it to defend independent media, freedom of expression and media pluralism where they are most threatened.”
Hungary: RSF asks prime ministerial candidates to prioritize press freedom and the right to information
“If the future government does not take concrete steps to dismantle this political system which has enabled the concentration of media ownership as well as the deliberate attacks on media independence, Hungary would risk becoming a black hole from which no reliable news and information emerges.”
Hungarian government continues to undermine press freedom
Ahead of April’s general election, IPI’s new report finds that the Fidesz government has continued to systematically erode media pluralism, muzzle the independent press and manipulate the market to further entrench a pro-government narrative.
MFRR Report: State Capture and Media Freedom in Hungary, Poland and Turkey
“In Hungary, Poland and Turkey, increasing control of ruling parties over state-controlled companies, advertising agencies, media regulators, competition watchdogs and even the courts, has allowed for a steady intensification and diversification of campaigns against critical press.”