New Law Means Photographers In Hungary Must Ask Permission First; Bad Hungarian Cops Rejoice

from the not-waving,-but-drowning dept

Last year, we wrote about a weird law in Sweden that forbade photos from being taken indoors without asking permission. Now Hungary has gone even further. As The Guardian reports, the country has brought in:

a new civil code that outlaws taking pictures without the permission of everyone in the photograph. According to the justice ministry, people taking pictures should look out for those "who are not waving, or who are trying to hide or running out of shot".

Although the Hungarian government claims this is simply codifying existing practice, there's one area where it is likely to have a big impact, as the lawyer Eszter Bognár explains:

"I don't think this is going to change the practice of photographing 'normal' people, because they don't have the possibility to ID the person taking the photo, but it's going to be more difficult to take pictures of policemen."

And Márton Magócsi, senior photo editor at news website Origo, warns:

"The real danger is that private security companies or the police will try to keep reporters and photojournalists out of certain areas, or prevent them and members of the public from taking photographs of their actions," he adds.

That's something we're seeing increasingly, and it seems to be part of a general trend to counter the inconvenient ubiquity of high-quality cameras, now routinely found on mobile phones. The photos and videos they record can be used as compelling evidence of illegal police actions that before might have escaped punishment for want of any proof. The new Hungarian law means bad apples in the country's police force will find it easier to avoid this kind of scrutiny.

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Filed Under: hungary, permission, photography

European Commission Chickens Out: Allows Hungarian Media Censorship

from the no-moral-backbone dept

There was plenty of concern earlier this year, as Hungary took over the EU Presidency just at the same time it had passed a worrying new internet censorship law that lets the government fine any content provider that it judges to not be sufficiently "balanced." The European Commission apparently had planned to criticize the law... but somehow chickened out at the last minute. Glyn Moody points us to a (slightly confusing) account of what happened, where minutes before a vote was to be taken, some sort of "deal" was struck that appears to let Hungary continue to censor the media. Among the "concessions," it appears that the "balanced" part won't apply to internet-only media, but will still apply to other media. Online publications, though, still have to register with the government, and can face fines or get "dropped" from the register -- barring them from continuing to publish -- if they violate certain rules. As the report notes, this still seems like it goes against the basic concepts of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Filed Under: censorship, europe, hungary, media, regulations

Hungarian Media Puts Up Blank Pages To Protest Censorship Bill

from the good-for-them dept

We noted that some media publications in Hungary were considering a "media blackout" to protest new laws that would greatly increase government control over the media, by forcing the media to reveal sources and threatening fines if the government felt that coverage wasn't "balanced." While we doubted that such a protest would have much of an impact, it does appear that many of the major media properties put up blank pages on their websites to protest the law. And now we'll see whether or not it has any impact at all...

Filed Under: free speech, hungary, journalism, regulation

Civil Liberties Groups Worried About Hungarian Media Censorship Just As Hungary Takes Over EU Presidency

from the timing-is-everything dept

We had already discussed how Hungary's new media censorship laws seemed particularly draconian -- requiring all reporting to be sufficiently "balanced" or the media may receive a fine and all media must reveal their sources. It appears the new law is getting a lot more attention, as its coincides with Hungary taking over the Presidency of the EU. Civil liberties groups are protesting the new law and calling for a media blackout. I'd be surprised if any such blackout is effective but having more people speak out in general about such laws hopefully will lead the Hungarian government to reconsider its policies.

Filed Under: civil liberties, hungary, journalism, regulations

Hungary, Venezuela Each Start To Regulate Internet Content To Stop Political Commentary The Gov't Doesn't Like

from the yeah,-that'll-work dept

Recently, we mocked a proposed law in Venezuela to regulate internet content, and it appears that law has passed and it's even more ridiculous than originally thought. The part we had found funny would have said that certain "adult" content could only be online at night, as if the internet worked like television. The approved regulations are even more insane. It says that all Internet traffic is supposed to pass through a single, government-controlled access point and forbids any content that disrespects public officials. Uh, yeah, that's called censorship. Amusingly, supporters of the bill, in a true Orwellian manner claim that by sending all internet traffic through a single government controlled access point will "make the internet faster." Um, yeah, that's not how the internet works.

If we jump halfway around the world, to Hungary, it appears the government there is doing something similar. Glyn Moody points us to the news that the Hungarian Parliament has approved a new law regulating all media content -- including online. Apparently, any content judged not to be "politically balanced," will get fined. Of course, it's the ruling party that has their fingers on the scale to determine what is, and what is not, considered "balanced." The law will also require journalists to hand over names of sources. Think of it as the opposite of a shield law for journalists. Anyway, if the Hungarian government believes this post is not politically balanced enough for their censors, well, tough luck.

Filed Under: censorship, free speech, hungary, journalism, venezuela