An MEP of ruling Fidesz slammed the Media Freedom Act adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday as “a censorship law attempting to regulate member states’ media systems by infringing on the states’ competencies and in consultation with organisations of the Soros network, although it purportedly protects the independence and pluralism of media.”
“The law is another attempt from Brussels to curb member states’ sovereignty. It aims to make sure that only Brussels’ voice can be heard, and gives the EU an opportunity to oppress patriotic and Christian conservative views and values. This is unacceptable. Brussels is building total control over media and a centralised system of censorship before our eyes,” Andrea Bocskor said.
She also slammed the regulation for disregarding country-specific characteristics and pushing a generic regulation for all member states. It also allows the EU to curb certain contents in public media by imposing sanctions, she said.
“Hungary is committed to a multi-faceted media and the freedom of opinion. This regulation is clearly another attempt to weaken and silence right-wing forces ahead of the EP elections,” she said.
Under the EU treaties, regulation of the law’s subject matter is in the hands of the member states. The law “is a stealthy attempt to widen Brussels’ competencies,” said the MEP.
The Media Freedom Act obligates member states to protect the independence of media and bans influencing editorial decisions, the European Parliament said in a press release.
“Authorities will be prohibited from pressing journalists and editors to disclose their sources, including by detaining them, sanctions, office searches, or by installing intrusive surveillance software on their electronic devices,” the EP said.
The EP also tightened the use of spyware on journalists’ devices, “which will be possible only on a case-by-case basis and subject to authorisation by a judicial authority… Even in these cases, subjects will have the right to be informed after the surveillance has occurred and will be able to challenge it in court.”
To avoid the use of public media for political ends, the law said the heads and board members of public media institutions must be “selected through transparent and non-discriminatory procedures for sufficiently long terms of office. It will not be possible to dismiss them before their contract ends, unless they no longer meet the professional criteria,” the press release said.
Additionally, the law regulates the operation of large online platforms. “Platforms will first have to distinguish independent media from non-independent sources. Media would be notified when the platform intends to delete or restrict their content and have 24 hours to respond.”
Fidesz MEPs welcome new EP regulations on AI
MEPs Edina Tóth and Balázs Hidvéghi said the new regulation focused on consumer protection, fostered innovation and helped companies exploit economic opportunities in the field.
The EP said that the law, adopted with 523 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions, aims to safeguard fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and sustainability while boosting innovation.
The regulation bans “biometric categorisation systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases,” the EP said in a press release. “Emotion recognition in the workplace and schools, social scoring, predictive policing (when it is based solely on profiling a person or assessing their characteristics), and AI that manipulates human behaviour or exploits people’s vulnerabilities will also be forbidden.”
The law also imposes transparency requirements on the use of general-puspose AI and bans the use of biometric identification systems in law enforcement, with a few strictly regulated exceptions.
Citizens will have the opportunity to file complaints of suspected abuse of AI, according to the press release.
“We have always seen it as a priority to have EU regulations on AI focusing on people’s security and handling AI-related risks, but also ensure fair competition for digital SMEs,” it said.
Tóth also called it important “to keep the development and implementation of AI in human hands, and also that it is safe, transparent and non-discriminatory, serving society and the environment alike”.
“I hope the regulation will also boost innovation and investment in the sector in Hungary,” Tóth added.
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