An Assessment of the Consistency of Hungary's Media Laws with ...

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26 • Hungarian Media Laws in Europe 1/Media authority: independence to ensure that appointments ultimately remain ministerial responsibility. This is policy is under review by the current Government as a result of several controversial appointments, including that of the first Ofcom chairperson, Lord David Currie, a member of the Labour party and a close ally of then Chancellor Gordon Brown. 155 The appointment of former Tony Blair advisor Edward Richards as chief executive of the Ofcom Board in 2006 was also heavily criticised in the UK press. 155 “Peer named media watchdog chief,” BBC News World Edition, 25 July, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ entertainment/2150739.stm.
2/Media Authority: centralised structure and regulatory scope Hungary’s Media Authority is responsible for overseeing all media sectors and all areas of media regulation—from tendering, licensing and spectrum management to monitoring compliance with and issuing sanctions for breaches to the new media laws. Opponents say the Media Authority’s “dual-headed” structure, with the president of the Media Authority also serving as chairperson of the Media Council, centralises media governance in the hands of a single regulator with an unprecedented scope of authority over Hungary’s media landscape. Critics claim the Media Authority’s far-reaching regulatory scope vastly exceeds that of other media authorities in Europe. According to the Hungarian Government, the new system streamlines regulatory activities in response to digital convergence and the Media Authority is similar to other “convergent” regulatory bodies in Europe. The Media Authority was established by Hungarian lawmakers in July 2010 as the country’s new “super regulator” responsible for overseeing all sectors of the media, telecommunications and postal services. 1 It replaced Hungary’s two former regulatory agencies—the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT), the media regulator, and the National Communications Authority (NHH), the telecommunications regulator— with a single, convergent body to manage all media sectors and areas of media regulation. 2 The Media Authority’s regulatory powers and scope are specified in the Act on the Freedom of the Press and the Fundamental Rules on Media Content (the “Press Freedom Act”) and the Media Services and Mass Media Act (the “Media Act”), as well as in a number of amended laws in the media law “package.” 3 1 The National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), the “Media Authority,” was established by Act 82/2010, passed by Parliament on July 22, 2010, which amended several laws regulating the media and telecommunications sectors, including the Electronic Communications Act 2003 and the 1996 Law on Radio and Television Broadcasting. Text of Act 82/2010, in Hungarian: http://www.kozlonyok.hu/nkonline/MKPDF/ hiteles/mk10129.pdf. 2 For a summary of these changes, see “Hungary: A Wave of Media Legislation,” Mark Lengyel, The European Audiovisual Observatory, IRIS 2010-8:1/34, http://merlin.obs.coe.int/iris/2010/8/article34.en.html. 3 Act CIV of 2010 on the freedom of the press and the fundamental rules on media content (the “Press Freedom Act”) as amended March 2011, available at: http://cmcs. These laws introduced new regulations for all “media services” and press products—which includes public and commercial broadcasting, Internet TV and radio, on-demand media, print and online press, and foreign media “aimed at” Hungary—to be overseen by the Media Authority. The Media Authority is composed of three main entities: the President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority; the Office of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority; and the Media Council—each with a range of competencies over media, electronic communications and telecommunications regulations. 4 The president oversees the Media Authority’s broader monitoring, regulatory and enforcement activities in the media and telecommunications sectors. 5 The president’s ceu.hu/files/act_CIV_of_2010_press_freedom_and_fr_ of_media_content.pdf; Act CLXXXV of 2010 on media services and mass media, (the “Media Act”), as amended March 2011, available at: http://nmhh.hu/dokumentum. php?cid=26536; other legislation in media law “package” includes the amended Electronic Communications Act 2003, the amended Articles 43/A-43/M of the Act on the Rules of Broadcasting and Digital Switchover (2007), the amended 1996 Act on the Prohibition of Unfair and Restrictive Market Practices, and the amended Articles 7/A, 40/E, and 61 in the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary. 4 Media Act, Article 109(3), available at: http://nmhh.hu/ dokumentum.php?cid=26536. 5 These include: the Press Freedom Act, the Mass Media Act, the Electronic Communications Act 2003, the amended Hungarian Media Laws in Europe • 27
Page 1 and 2: An Assessment of the Consistency of
Page 3 and 4: Contributors Lead researcher and ed
Page 5 and 6: SLOvAkiA Andrej Školkay, PhD, Prof
Page 7 and 8: Italy .............................
Page 9 and 10: executive summary to freedom of exp
Page 11 and 12: executive summary Media Authority,
Page 13 and 14: executive summary by comparison, is
Page 15 and 16: executive summary Conclusions These
Page 17 and 18: Report overview This report present
Page 19 and 20: 1/Media Authority: independence Hun
Page 21 and 22: 1/Media authority: independence nom
Page 23 and 24: 1/Media authority: independence 1/F
Page 25 and 26: 1/Media authority: independence reg
Page 27 and 28: 1/Media authority: independence sta
Page 29 and 30: 1/Media authority: independence as
Page 31 and 32: 1/Media authority: independence of
Page 33 and 34: 1/Media authority: independence (d)
Page 35 and 36: 1/Media authority: independence to
Page 37 and 38: 1/Media authority: independence Aut
Page 39 and 40: 1/Media authority: independence mem
Page 41 and 42: 1/Media authority: independence Act
Page 43: 1/Media authority: independence a n
Page 47 and 48: 2/Media authority: centralised stru
Page 57 and 58: 3/Media laws’ scope: regulating p
Page 59 and 60: 3/Media law scope: regulating print
Page 85 and 86: 4/Public service media these outlet
Page 87 and 88: 4/Public service media Free-press a
Page 89 and 90: 4/Public service media 4.1/Findings
Page 91 and 92: 4/Public service media 4.3/Findings
Page 93 and 94: 4/Public service media The director
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4/Public service media The present
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4/Public service media Example cite
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4/Public service media • • •
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4/Public service media the death of
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4/Public service media 2001). In ad
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4/Public service media Example cite
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4/Public service media by the YLE.
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5/media authority: PowerS applicati
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5/media authority: PowerS effect on
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5/media authority: PowerS 5.1/Exper
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5/media authority: PowerS In additi
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5/media authority: PowerS Judit Bay
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5/media authority: PowerS online pr
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5/media authority: PowerS However,
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5/media authority: PowerS between t
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6/Data disclosure The Hungarian Med
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6/DATA DISCLOSURE Authority’s req
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6/DATA DISCLOSURE 6/Findings: Data
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6/DATA DISCLOSURE 6/Expert assessme
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6/DATA DISCLOSURE not wish to give
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6/DATA DISCLOSURE enforce the appli
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7/Sanctions Under Hungary’s new m
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7/SanctionS 2 million (EUR 7,220) f
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7/SanctionS Convention, regardless
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7/SanctionS 7/Findings: Sanctions A
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7/SanctionS has produced an extensi
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7/SanctionS 7/Expert assessments: S
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7/SanctionS Example cited by Hungar
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7/SanctionS the courts. Appeals do
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7/SanctionS three months. The judge
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7/SanctionS appeals tribunals (Ober
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7/SanctionS down a telemedia servic
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7/SanctionS an individual broadcast
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7/SanctionS Hence, the statement ab
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7/SanctionS As noted above, Electro
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7/SanctionS interference with activ
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7/SanctionS An exception was in 200
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7/SanctionS define levels of infrin
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7/SanctionS broadcasting images of
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7/SanctionS The RVR can impose a fi
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7/SanctionS in fact specifies numer
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Country experts: Biographies AUSTRI
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EXPERTS’ biogRaPhiES as well as n
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EXPERTS’ biogRaPhiES new media. H
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METhoDoLogY Methodology This projec
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LawS REfEREncED Laws referenced (by
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LawS REfEREncED FINLAND Laws Act on
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LawS REfEREncED Press Freedom Act,
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LawS REfEREncED Law on Protection o
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LawS REfEREncED SwEDEN Laws Freedom
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