The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU, in Hungarian: TASZ) has been addressing data protection (GDPR) -based SLAPP issues for several years. GDPR based SLAPP cases are legal proceedings, where influential individuals try to stifle journalism with the misuse of data protection. We represent numerous affected editorial offices and actively participate in the dialogue on the anti-SLAPP directive at the European level. It is our primary aim to learn as much as possible about this new phenomenon, and to use this knowledge to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the relevant stakeholders.

In Hungary, the erosion of the constitutional state and the elevation of corruption to the status of a public policy tool are happening simultaneously, in close connection with each other, mostly hidden behind some alleged public interest objective. In the last two years, this alleged public interest objective has been to control the pandemic. K-Monitor and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union have been documenting this process since the start of the pandemics. The summary and final report of this work covers the period from March 2020 to March 2022. In our report, we present the most significant changes in the last two years that have increased opacity and hampered the fight against corruption, budgetary irregularities, the outsourcing of public assets and measures that disproportionately affect opposition municipalities.

We have won no less than three cases recently concerning data of public interest. The Centre for Budapest Transport (CBT) and the Hungarian Medical Chamber (HMC) was ordered to release the requested information to our clients free of charge, while MoD ARZENÁL Co., involved in the sales of military devices, has been ordered to reveal the conditions under which they had sold disarmed combat helicopters withdrawn from operation. In all three cases, the decision of the court made it easier to access data of public interest.

Despite international success, freedom of information is on a slippery domestic slope – and not in favour of the public.

Last fall, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) adopted a new policy to help re-establish an environment for government and civil society collaboration, safeguarding the Open Government Declaration and to mitigate reputational risks to OGP. Today, members of Hungarian civil society, including representatives of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and K-Monitor, as well as Sunlight’s international policy manager, a former employee of K-Monitor, called on the OGP Steering Committee to take action under the new policy and launch a thorough investigation into the situation in Hungary, with a special attention to the deterioration of the space for civil society.

Draft amendments to the Freedom of Information Act of Hungary raise concerns about access to public information and should be consulted with all stakeholders before adoption, Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media said today.

The Hungarian government has devised a new anti-corruption program, which, as opposed to reducing corruption, in fact increases the government's power. Compared with earlier plans, reforms concerning the financing of parties and the protection of whistleblowers have been excluded from the program, which also fails to deal with the asset declarations of MPs. The civil and the business sectors, in turn, are facing stricter regulations in the future.More:http://tasz.hu/informacioszabadsag/tovabb-lejton-elfogadta-kormany-nemzeti-korrupcioellenes-programot

Civils say law to classify data of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion as confidential for 30 years is unconstitutional.

Five NGOs, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, have addressed an open letter to Hungary's president after the draft law on the maintenance of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant was passed by the Parliament.

Five NGOs, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, have addressed an open letter to Hungary's president after the draft law on the maintenance of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant was passed by the Parliament. The NGOs demand that President János Áder initiate a constitutional review of the law before the Constitutional Court. The NGOs are concerned because the new act severely limits access to public interest data by rendering all information concerning the Paks plant as classified data for the next 30 years. Opposition parties have joined the organizations in attacking the decision.More:http://tasz.hu/informacioszabadsag/elfogadhatatlan-paksi-beruhazas-teljes-titkositasa

In its judgement, the Court of Justice of the European Union has declared the Data Retention Directive invalid. Based on the Directive, service providers were keeping phone records and other personal data for 6 months. We have decided to undertake the lengthy process of actually eliminating this European law in Hungary.

In November, 2013 András Horváth, former staff member of the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration turned to the public with his information on companies committing VAT fraud with the assistance of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV). The whistleblower decided to seek publicity after several unsuccessful attempts to raise the issue within the Administration and the government. The revelations resulted in huge media coverage and created an unresolved political scandal ever since.