The Free People for Hungary – Liberal Party has firmly deprecated the new Hungarian media regulations from the beginning. Even the preparation and the parliamentary decision procedure of the media law have violated certain legal obligations in connection with transparent law-making and social consultation. In spite of the government’s propaganda, the new law (which regulates the content of the media, sets up a state supervisory system and creates sanctions which can be implemented against the press and the media pluralism itself) is „unique” in Europe and is not compatible with the values and traditions of the European liberal democracies.

As a result of the law, the supervision of newscast and media control will be under the exclusive influence of the governing majority. The opposition has been cut out of the media supervision by the government and the ruling party entirely. This statement is proven by the fact that only the candidates of the Fidesz-KDNP were elected to the National Media and Communications Authority.

Although the law claims the liberty and diversity of information, the sole objective of the new media regulations is the strong and harsh restriction of the freedom of press (in a broad sense) in favour of the interests of the Fidesz party and the current government. The Media Authority will be able to levy penalties up to 25 million forints (approx. 90 000 euros) on national dailies or websites because of unlawful content – an expression which is not defined unambiguously by the law. The definition is to be adjusted by the mentioned Authority in the form of ordinances. On this basis, the so-called media and newscast commissioners (who will also be appointed by the Authority) will decide wether there was a violation or not. Moreover, the co-workers of the Authority will be able to appear in any editorial office and confiscate any kind of documents – even if no violations were diagnosed whatsoever.

The Free People of Hungary – Liberal Party, as a recently formed non-parliamentary party staunchly struggles against the new law with every available means. We support civil movements created in order to fight for the freedom of press, and members of the party participate in demonstrations and protests against the media law. In addition, we draw attention to the anti-democratic nature of the mentioned legislation in blogs and articles, while organising roundtable discussions on the subject with renowned experts.

09 January 2011