The Hungarian Communications Market Developments and ...

26 27
surveillance activity. Service providers generally demonstrated a
law-abiding behaviour, therefore, the Authority was not compelled to
resort to sanctions available to it.
The Public Administration Root Certificate Authority (KGyHSz) was
also established within the framework of the regulation of electronic
public administration. This authority started operation at the end
of 2005. Its duties involve the certification of certification service
providers issuing certificates to be used in electronic public administration.
In accordance with the regulations in effect, the operation
of KGyHSz is the joint responsibility of the minister responsible for
informatics and NHH, with the chairman of KGyHSz being a public
servant of NHH. The KGyHSz Office in charge of the daily operation
of the certificate authority also operates within NHH.
Surveillance procedures as regards unsolicited electronic messages
(SPAM)
Before the end of 2005, NHH’s activity in connection with unsolicited
electronic messages has been limited to its participation as a special
authority in procedures of advertising supervision initiated by the
former Consumer Protection Supervision, as laid down in Act CVIII of
2001 on electronic commerce. In 2005, there was a marked rise in the
number of special authority opinions issued, which signalled an increased
need on the part of consumers for procedures to be initiated
concerning spam and, in general, a change in tolerance to spam.
After becoming aware of these changes, the Authority has started
to develop a complex system of legal, technical, regulatory and
authority tools to address spam. As per the Amendment of the Act
on Electronic Commerce, since 1 January 2006, NHH has been in
charge of acting with reference to unsolicited electronic messages
within its own competence.
The number of complaints tripled to over one thousand in 2007.
Half of the surveillance procedures initiated ended in a conviction,
with the imposition of penalty in fifteen cases. In addition,
the Authority has continued its work on providing information on
unsolicited electronic messages. On the Authority’s website, a guide
on free-to-download anti-spam software has been published. The
Authority has also contributed to the amendment of the Act on Electronic
Commerce regulating electronic messages and the revision of
the law on advertising.
2.9 Postal authority duties
The postal duties of the National Communications Authority are
governed by the Act on Post (Act CI of 2003). Although the regulator
of this area is not the Authority, it is in charge of several important
administrative duties. According the Act, the Authority is in charge of
duties related to:
• notification with reference to postal services,
• authorization of postal services,
• keeping of records,
• market surveillance,
• licensing of postal equipment, and
• the approval of the by-laws of universal postal service providers.
Figure 2.10: Distribution of surveillance procedures as regards
unsolicited electronic messages (2007)
10 2
16
9
3
5
47
5%
47%
0%
8%
3%
16%
9%
10%
2%
Resolution on rejection
Resolution on conviction
Transfer
Cancellation order – failure of submission of missing documents
Cancellation order – withdrawal of application
Cancellation order – unsuccessful presentation of evidence
Cancellation order – other reasons
Information
Cancellation of e-mail address
8
0
Source: NHH