By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary has recently come under fire for a new media law, effective January 1, 2011, which greatly expands the state’s power to monitor and penalize media outlets by imposing heavy fines for media coverage that violates “public interest, public morals or order.” Critics of the new law worry that too much in it remains undefined and can be used to silence public debate or media coverage that is critical of the government. Criticism of the new law by media watchdogs and European governments has been particularly sharp given that Hungary assumed the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union on January 1.
If television channels violate the new law, they could receive a fine up to 200 million forints ($950,000), daily publications could receive fines up to 25 million forints ($119,000), and weekly publications could receive fines up to 10 million forints ($48,000). The new law is administered by the newly created National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH).
One of the first acts of the NMHH was to begin proceedings against a radio station for playing two songs by the rapper Ice-T, which contain obscenities, before 9 PM, saying that the songs “could influence the development of minors in a negative way”. The radio station responded in a letter saying that few of those under 16, in a country where most people do not possess advanced foreign languages skills, understand lyrics “written in slang, full of words and expressions missing from their curriculum, after one hearing, in a musical environment.”
It has been reported that all five members of the media authority, the NMHH, are members of or are linked to the Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. However, the Public Administration and Justice Ministry said in a statement on their website on Monday that Members of the NMHH “have no ties, either formal or informal, with the ruling political parties.”
In late December Hungarian Prime Minister Orban took a strong stance against any criticism of the new law. “We are not even thinking in our wildest dreams about making amendments to the law,” he said in an interview with the Hungarian private television channel Hir TV. “I am not inclined to react with wobbly knees to debates in parliament or Western reactions. There is not a single passage in the law that does not correspond to the media law in E.U. countries.”
This Thursday, Orban acknowledged that Hungary’s six month presidency of the European Union got off to a “bad start,” as well as further acknowledging that Hungary might be open to the possibility of amending the new media law if the European Union requires it. However, Orban claims other countries have comparable laws to Hungary’s new media law, though experts say Hungary’s law goes further than others and represents the worst practices in Europe. As a result, Orban says, Hungary will only institute changes to the media law if other EU countries make similar changes.
For more information, please see:
ASSOCIATED PRESS – Hungary willing to consider changes to media law – 6 January 2011
BBC – Hungary PM ‘ready to change’ media law if EU demands – 6 January 2011
BBC – Hungary plunges into EU hot water in steering role – 6 January 2011
NEW YORK TIMES – Hungarian Leader Takes On Foreign Critics – 6 January 2011
BBC – Hungary rejects Western media law attacks – 3 January 2011
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Ice-T Lyrics Draw Media Council’s Ire – 3 January 2011
BBC – Under fire Hungary media watchdog raises concerns – 2 January 2011
NEW YORK TIMES – Hungary Waves Off Criticism Over Media Law – 25 Decuary 2010
