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At its 103rd Plenary Session on 19-20 June 2015, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe adopted its Opinion on Hungary’s media legislation, the so-called “media package”. The Commission had been asked to provide such an Opinion by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January 2015, in particular to identify provisions which pose a danger to the right to freedom of expression (see IRIS 2015-4/2). The 27-page Opinion discusses two particular laws which form part of the “media package”, namely Act CLXXXV of 2010 on Media...

On 15 December 2014, the Hungarian National Assembly adopted a new amendment to the Hungarian Media Act, primarily aimed at the transformation of the institutional framework of the public media services. As a result of this amendment, Duna Médiaszolgáltató Részvénytársaság (Duna Media Service Company limited by Shares) was established as the legal successor of Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television), Duna Televízió (Duna TV), Magyar Rádió (Hungarian Radio) and Magyar Távirati Iroda (Hungarian News Agency), which all operated as independent shareholding companies. Duna Médiaszolgáltató Részvénytársaság...

In its judgment in the case of Matúz v. Hungary, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed the importance of whistleblower protection, in this case for a journalist who alarmed public opinion regarding censorship within the public broadcasting organisation in Hungary. The case concerned the dismissal of a television journalist, Gábor Matúz, working for the State television company Magyar Televízió Zrt., after having revealed several instances of alleged censorship by one of his superiors. Matúz first contacted the television company’s president and sent a letter to its board, informing them...

On 12 September 2014, the Hungarian Parliament adopted an act that makes it impossible for the two national commercial television channels (RTL Klub and TV2) to request cable companies to pay a retransmission fee. As a result of this new piece of legislation, the two broadcasters have to proceed with an in-depth restructuring of their business models. The two national commercial broadcasters have long been planning to collect retransmission fees from the cable companies as of 1 January 2015. Thus far, RTL Klub and TV2 (unlike the other channels) have been available for free, since before the digital...

In summer 2014, the legislator in Hungary introduced a special tax. This special tax could significantly reshape the entire domestic media market. The advertising tax law, which entered into effect in mid-July, imposes a new levy on income from advertising. The range of subjects, who must pay this tax, is rather broadly defined. The new special tax has elicited protest by all market players. In addition to electronic, print and online press products, it also extends tax liability on outdoor and internet advertising. Pursuant to the legislative intent, the tax needs to be paid not only by companies...