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On 16 February 2012, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the recent political developments in Hungary. The resolution indicates as main topics of concern the independence of the judiciary and the political implications of a number of provisions in the underlying laws to the Hungarian Constitution, adopted in April 2011. Also, the freedom and pluralism of the media and the quality of democracy in general in Hungary are mentioned as areas of concern (for more information on the Hungarian situation see IRIS 2012-2/25, IRIS 2011-5/100, IRIS 2011-5/2, IRIS 2011-4/7, IRIS 2011-4/2, IRIS 2011-3/24,...

On 1 January 2012 an amendment to Act II. of 2004 on Motion Pictures came into force significantly changing the institutional and funding system of the Hungarian film industry (see IRIS 2004-2/28). Under the new law the recently established Magyar Nemzeti Filmalap Közhasznú Nonprofit Zrt. (Hungarian National Film Fund - MNF) replaces the Magyar Mozgókép Közalapítvány (Motion Picture Public Foundation - MMKA), becoming the central body for the support of the Hungarian film industry. The MMKA was established jointly by the Government and organisations of the film industry; the MNF’s founder is the...

On 19 December 2011 the Constitutional Court delivered a decision on the new Hungarian media laws (Decision 1746/B/2010. AB). In its decision the Court annulled several provisions and established the need for further legislation. During 2010, as it is widely known, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a series of acts, thus it created a new legal and institutional framework of media regulation (see IRIS 2010-8/34). The most important elements of this legislation were: - Act CIV. of 2010 on Freedom of Expression and on the Basic Rules of Media Content (Media Constitution; see IRIS 2011-1/37); and -...

According to paragraph 6 of Article 10 of the new Media Act, which came into force on 1 January 2011, linear media service programmes that may seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors, particularly because they involve pornography or extreme and/or unnecessary scenes of violence (Category VI programmes), may be published only if the media service holds the programme in an encrypted form and can only be accessed via a digit code available only to subscribers over the age of eighteen, or that uses another effective technical solution to prevent viewers or listeners under...

On 19 July 2011 a Recommendation on aspects necessary for the classification of programmes and on the displaying of symbols corresponding to the classification of programmes was issued by the Media Council of the National Media and Communications Authority (hereinafter referred to as “Media Council”). The Recommendation is aimed at ensuring the protection of minors from harmful media content. This Recommendation was issued after a public hearing held on 11 July 2011 with the participation of media service providers, distributors and lobby organizations of the Hungarian media market. The Recommendation...