In its decision, the Constitutional Court said that the internet was not an area outside the law and internet communication was also governed by relevant legal stipulations. Fundamental rights and obligations, as outlined in the constitution, must also be observed in internet communication, it said.

The operator of a website is responsible for blog entries or comments, even if those comments are moderated, the top court said. The Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) said, however, that the ruling would seriously impact Hungary’s internet practices and could “significantly restrict political discussions”.

Unconditional responsibility, as suggested by the ruling, will make it “extremely risky” for content providers to allow for any comments at all, TASZ said. “No matter if providers moderate comments or not, even if they remove harmful content, they will still be held responsible,” it said. TASZ insisted that content providers should only be penalised if they do not remove the objected content after it is brought to their attention.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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