Experts' Opinions

   

Press Freedom a Loser in Viktor Orbán's Winner-Take-All Hungary
 


December 02, 2011

Last week I joined a delegation of leading freedom of expression organizations  in Hungary to assess the impact of much criticized media legislation that went into effect in January. Discussions with dozens of journalists, media officials, regulation authorities, and government representatives validated the serious concerns expressed by international press freedom experts since the law was passed last December.

The new media legislation has many troubling features. Not only does the legislation put in place a new regulatory structure with excessively broad authority and questionable independence, it also provides limited possibilities for judicial review of the decisions made by that body, which has the ability to issue or suspend licenses, monitor media content, and issue fines and levies in cases of content violations

At the same time, it provides overly broad language on prohibited content. The law bans content that insults “human dignity” or that discriminates against “any majority” or “any church or religious group.” The legislation extends registration requirements to print and online media, a step that sharply contrasts with internationally accepted norms, and greatly expands the circumstances under which journalists can be forced to reveal their sources.  Finally, the new regulatory regime has developed a model of co-regulation that amounts to outsourcing censorship to media owners in exchange for immunity from fines, which can otherwise be levied up to 2 million forints (approximately $950,000) for radio and television outlets.
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Paula Schriefer
Vice President for Global Programs
Freedom House

  


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