Hungary Sees Controversial Investigations Based on Notorious Media Law

Hungary‘s largest circulation broadsheet Nepszabadsag's front page announces in its headline, 'The freedom of the press in Hungary has come to an end' - in protest of the new media law. EPA/BGNES

Hungary's newly-instituted media council has launched a controversial investigation based on the country's recently adopted media law that attracted wide-ranging criticism, the International Press Institute (IPI) and the South and East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO) announced.

IPI/SEEMO said in a statement Friday that Hungary's newly-instituted media council (NMHH) launched an inquiry into Tilos radio station in September, according to a letter from the council on the station's website.

The inquiry relates to the station's broadcast of two songs by American rapper Ice-T in its 1730h program. According to the letter from the NMHH, the songs' lyrics were objectionable, and violated sections 5/B. § (3) and 5/C § (2) of the Regulations on Radio and Television Broadcasting, which relate to material which may influence the physical, moral or mental development of minors.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute and its affiliate, the South and East Europe Media Organization, points out that Hungary has come under sharp scrutiny in recent months, with widespread criticism of the new media law as being too restrictive and granting wide-ranging powers to the media council to penalize the media for breaching a variety of broad and vague regulations.

In December, an IPI/SEEMO fact-finding mission to Hungary warned that the law had been passed without a "wide, open discussion with media professionals", and that Hungary, which was about to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union as of January 1, 2011, has a responsibility to set an example of press freedom standards in the region.

Hungary's the new media law, which came into force last Saturday, would allow radio and television stations to be fined up to EUR 730 000 (USD 975 000) for going against "public interest, public morals and order", or for broadcasting "partial information", with insufficient clarification on what constitutes an infringement of the law, according to local media sources.

In November, Hungary's parliament passed legislation ostensibly aimed at promoting press freedom but which in fact allows for journalists to be forced to give up their confidential sources in cases involving vaguely-defined "national security", IPI and SEEMO say.

In a letter in response to the NMHHs notification , the radio station contends that the songs are in English, a language spoken by a minority of under-16s in the country, and points out that the official investigation concludes that understanding the lyrics was made more difficult by the colloquialisms used in the songs. The station also contends that since a small minority of its listeners are under 16 years of age, they should not be obligated to reserve the songs for the post-21h time slot, as the law requires.

Criticism of the Hungarian media law has been widespread and vociferous. IPI called in November and December for a re-evaluation of its terms, as have several other press freedom organizations. The law has also been criticized by EU members Britain and Germany.

"Freedom of the press is at the heart of a free society. We hope that the Hungarian Government will soon resolve this issue satisfactorily and that it will not impact adversely on the successful delivery of the Hungarian EU Presidency," the UK Foreign Office said as reported by the BBC.

Hungary's center-right Cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected earlier this week Western criticism of the new media legislation, calling it ill-informed and even absurd, and vowing to uphold press freedom. Hungary claims its Media Act conforms with the EU rules and called the criticism "unfounded, at times outright absurd accusations".

"A common trait of the opinions expressed by the media is that they apparently lack in-depth knowledge of the Act's text," the Public Administration and Justice Ministry said quoted by IPI/SEEMO.

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