Hungary

Judit Acsay, the Vice-President of the EFJ affiliate in Hungary, says “the report accurately summarises the state of media freedom in Hungary. I hope this will put pressure on the government to push for changes.”

Hungarian journalists are not being jailed or murdered. There is no poster child for a muzzled press. The repression is achieved through a combination of regulations and cronyism and a strategy of divide and rule.

According to the latest version of the draft, internet service providers would be required to pay fees to the government per individual and business subscriber. There are concerns that the tax’s real purpose is to prevent access to information.

The ruling, welcomed as a victory for freedom of thought and religion in Hungary, found the 2012 Church Act unjustified and ‘politically tainted’.

Over the past four years, Hungary has seen dozens of small, and not so small, encroachments on the right to free expression. Taken en masse, certain developments in Hungary indicate a clear trajectory towards authoritarian regulation of the media, and the situation is becoming increasingly dire.

The new advertisement tax imposes a 40% tax on media outlets with earnings above 65 million Euros per year. Apparently, the only Hungarian media channel meeting this condition is independent broadcaster RTL Klub.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union has no doubts regarding the actual aim of the Hungarian Government Control Office’s investigation, which is to threaten the remaining opposition powers and suppress the voice of civil organizations that are critical towards the government.

Two new reports demonstrate how the governments in two European countries – Serbia and Hungary – use their financial power to pressure media outlets, punish critical reporting and reward favourable coverage.

Hungary’s Parliament has adopted a law to nationalize the school textbook market. From 1 September 2014, a state-owned body will create and publish school books which will be provided free of charge to primary schools. From now on, only two books will be available per subject and class.

In this latest attack on civil liberties in Hungary, a new law makes it a crime to create a video that harms another’s dignity – including the dignity of the state – even if nobody ever sees it.

The Hungarian Ambassador to Austria has called for the cancellation of a “racist” and “anti-Hungarian” art exhibition which opened recently in the Austrian city of Linz.

The International Press Institute and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation, has expressed concern that a freedom of information law recently passed by Hungary’s parliament limits government transparency and could increase the risk of corruption.

Sylvana Habdank-Kołaczkowska, Director for Nations in Transit, Freedom House, addresses the U.S. Helsinki Commission on legislation affecting the media and freedom of expression in Hungary.

Amendments to the Hungarian constitution include provisions that ban political advertisements on commercial media channels during campaign seasons.

Klubrádió has won a bid to operate a frequency in Budapest. The victory comes after a supporters of the station staged a mass demonstration calling on the Media Council to allow the station to broadcast in the city.

Changes approved last week by Parliament to controversial media laws do little to address the serious concerns expressed by the Council of Europe, and in some cases may make matters worse, said Human Rights Watch.