Data Disclosure

The Hungarian Media Authority has the right to request an unlimited range of data and information from media outlets, including corporate secrets and information protected by law, even after mandatory registration. Failure to comply with the Authority’s data requests can result in refusal of registration, fines, deletion from the register, and exemption from future tender offers. Free-press advocates and media experts warn these measures enable the Media Authority to exert undue and continuous pressure on the media and threaten press freedom. Hungarian officials say the system allows the Media Authority to exercise its regulatory tasks while still protecting media freedom...

Findings

Hungarian Government statement

Denmark’s RTB may also specify obligations on data provision to all broadcasters under its jurisdiction.

DENMARK

Expert assessment

It is true that Denmark’s Radio and Television Board (RTB) can require certain data from broadcasters in order to obtain a broadcast license. However as the licensing authority for broadcasters and electronic media, the RTB’s regulatory oversight is confined to public and commercial TV and radio and does not include the print or online press.

Erik Nordahl Svendsen, former director, Secretariat of Danish Radio and TV Board