After Protests Continue, Hungary Dumps Stupid Internet Tax Idea

Legal Issues

from the and-let-us-never-speak-of-it-again dept

Earlier this week, we wrote about widespread demonstrations against a monumentally stupid plan by the Hungarian government to tax internet usage on a per-gigabyte-downloaded plan. The protests caused the government to “modify” the plan and put a cap on how much tax would be charged, but that seemed to do little to stop the complaints — and thus, the government is shelving the plan entirely, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban announcing that the “tax in its current form cannot be introduced.” Of course, that leaves open the possibility of it coming back in “another” form. But perhaps Orban is learning not to take on the internet. An analysis from the BBC talks about why Orban backed down:

Viktor Orban does not often back down, but he has done so on this occasion for several reasons.

• He saw how unpopular the tax was. He managed with one stroke to do something which opposition leaders had tried and failed to do for five years: unify his opponents
• He took on the best-organised community in the country – internet users – and lost
• The government’s communication methods failed again – as they have with almost every major decision since Fidesz came to power
• “We are not Communists. We don’t go against the will of the people,” he said – a sign that growing comparisons between Fidesz and the old Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party are hitting the mark.

At the very least, this is yet another example of how the public is not willing to just roll over when politicians attack the internet.

Filed Under: hungary, internet tax, protests, viktor orban

Street Demonstrations Against Hungary's Plan To Tax Internet Data Lead To A Partial Climbdown By Government

Say That Again

from the illiberal-state dept

Last week, the Hungarian government proposed introducing what is probably the world’s first Internet data tax, which would require Internet Service Providers to pay 150 Hungarian forints (around $0.60) for every gigabyte of traffic they sent to their customers. As this article on Bloomberg reports, the outrage from users was so great that tens of thousands of them took to the streets of Hungary’s capital, Budapest, in what is one of the largest anti-government demonstrations since Prime Minister Viktor Orban came to power four years ago:

As that makes clear, this is not so much about the extra costs that such a tax would impose, as about the further attack on the freedom to access information, already greatly restricted in recent years under the current right-wing Hungarian government.

The Facebook page that was used to organize the protests has over 220,000 likes, and was publicized by no less a person than Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, who tweeted this to her 116,000 followers:

The demonstration has already had an effect:

The leaders of the protest have said that they want the new tax to be dropped completely:

However, the Hungarian government is unlikely to be willing to compromise further because it can point to backing for its policies from the Hungarian electorate:

The question is whether the protesters will be able to sustain their action, perhaps by trying to turn it into a more general challenge to the government, or whether most people who took part will see the cap on the tax as a good enough result.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+

Filed Under: hungary, internet tax, protests

New Law Means Photographers In Hungary Must Ask Permission First; Bad Hungarian Cops Rejoice

Legal Issues

from the not-waving,-but-drowning dept

Last year, we wrote about a weird law in Sweden that forbade photos from being taken indoors without asking permission. Now Hungary has gone even further. As The Guardian reports, the country has brought in:

Although the Hungarian government claims this is simply codifying existing practice, there’s one area where it is likely to have a big impact, as the lawyer Eszter Bognár explains:

And Márton Magócsi, senior photo editor at news website Origo, warns:

That’s something we’re seeing increasingly, and it seems to be part of a general trend to counter the inconvenient ubiquity of high-quality cameras, now routinely found on mobile phones. The photos and videos they record can be used as compelling evidence of illegal police actions that before might have escaped punishment for want of any proof. The new Hungarian law means bad apples in the country’s police force will find it easier to avoid this kind of scrutiny.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+

Filed Under: hungary, permission, photography

European Commission Chickens Out: Allows Hungarian Media Censorship

Free Speech

from the no-moral-backbone dept

There was plenty of concern earlier this year, as Hungary took over the EU Presidency just at the same time it had passed a worrying new internet censorship law that lets the government fine any content provider that it judges to not be sufficiently “balanced.” The European Commission apparently had planned to criticize the law… but somehow chickened out at the last minute. Glyn Moody points us to a (slightly confusing) account of what happened, where minutes before a vote was to be taken, some sort of “deal” was struck that appears to let Hungary continue to censor the media. Among the “concessions,” it appears that the “balanced” part won’t apply to internet-only media, but will still apply to other media. Online publications, though, still have to register with the government, and can face fines or get “dropped” from the register — barring them from continuing to publish — if they violate certain rules. As the report notes, this still seems like it goes against the basic concepts of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Filed Under: censorship, europe, hungary, media, regulations

Hungarian Media Puts Up Blank Pages To Protest Censorship Bill

Free Speech

from the good-for-them dept

We noted that some media publications in Hungary were considering a “media blackout” to protest new laws that would greatly increase government control over the media, by forcing the media to reveal sources and threatening fines if the government felt that coverage wasn’t “balanced.” While we doubted that such a protest would have much of an impact, it does appear that many of the major media properties put up blank pages on their websites to protest the law. And now we’ll see whether or not it has any impact at all…

Filed Under: free speech, hungary, journalism, regulation

Civil Liberties Groups Worried About Hungarian Media Censorship Just As Hungary Takes Over EU Presidency

Journalism

from the timing-is-everything dept

We had already discussed how Hungary’s new media censorship laws seemed particularly draconian — requiring all reporting to be sufficiently “balanced” or the media may receive a fine and all media must reveal their sources. It appears the new law is getting a lot more attention, as its coincides with Hungary taking over the Presidency of the EU. Civil liberties groups are protesting the new law and calling for a media blackout. I’d be surprised if any such blackout is effective but having more people speak out in general about such laws hopefully will lead the Hungarian government to reconsider its policies.

Filed Under: civil liberties, hungary, journalism, regulations

Hungary, Venezuela Each Start To Regulate Internet Content To Stop Political Commentary The Gov't Doesn't Like

Free Speech

from the yeah,-that'll-work dept

Recently, we mocked a proposed law in Venezuela to regulate internet content, and it appears that law has passed and it’s even more ridiculous than originally thought. The part we had found funny would have said that certain “adult” content could only be online at night, as if the internet worked like television. The approved regulations are even more insane. It says that all Internet traffic is supposed to pass through a single, government-controlled access point and forbids any content that disrespects public officials. Uh, yeah, that’s called censorship. Amusingly, supporters of the bill, in a true Orwellian manner claim that by sending all internet traffic through a single government controlled access point will “make the internet faster.” Um, yeah, that’s not how the internet works.

If we jump halfway around the world, to Hungary, it appears the government there is doing something similar. Glyn Moody points us to the news that the Hungarian Parliament has approved a new law regulating all media content — including online. Apparently, any content judged not to be “politically balanced,” will get fined. Of course, it’s the ruling party that has their fingers on the scale to determine what is, and what is not, considered “balanced.” The law will also require journalists to hand over names of sources. Think of it as the opposite of a shield law for journalists. Anyway, if the Hungarian government believes this post is not politically balanced enough for their censors, well, tough luck.

Filed Under: censorship, free speech, hungary, journalism, venezuela