Index – National – Prosecutor’s Office and Internet Ombudsman – How would Facebook regulate the opposition?

The Justice Minister recently posted on Facebook about restricting Christian, conservative and right-wing views on the surface of the community behemoth with a shadow ban. He also called an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on Digital Freedom. This body helps shape EU regulation for global tech companies, but Varga said “due to systemic abuses, we may need to act sooner.” Later, the head of the ministry wrote about the fact that he had consulted with Csaba Rigó, president of the Hungarian Competition Authority, about “reverse business practices of international digital companies.”

In an interview on Wednesday, Gábor Kubatov, the leader of Fidesz’s party, put it more specifically, saying that he supported the Poles’ plan to regulate Facebook in principle:

I agree with them in principle, because the aim of the Poles is not to restrict, but to expand freedom of expression so that as many opinions as possible can be expressed, even if liberals may not like it. I believe that if this works in practice, it will continue not only at home but in many countries around the world.

The gist of the Warsaw bill is that companies operating community interfaces can be fined if they remove content or ban profiles that did not violate Polish law and do not restore them to their original state afterwards.

The issue of regulation of technicians is a recurring issue also at the international level, with the help of two lawyers we analyzed in detail the background of the case:

They have the same possibilities as any opposition politician

According to the Momentum, it is not true that the social platform oppresses pro-Hungarian government politicians, “in fact, they socialize social networks week after week”, and it bothers them that “they have the same chances of reaching people as any politician of the opposition ”.

The party also writes that

For the past ten years, they have quietly silenced radios, shut down newspapers, and bought news portals. I would also like to continue this on social media.

If we look at it globally,

there are adjustable points that need to be addressed. But for Fidesz and Judit Varga, the objective is not to normalize the influence of gigantic companies, only to assert their own interests, to silence the voices of the opposition.

– answered the question of the Index.

Internet Ombudsman

Jobbik thinks it is absurd that the Orbán government is concerned about digital freedom, but does not consider it a coincidence

because at present, it is the social networks that provide the opposition to the one-party “public service” media and the predominance of the government’s propaganda machine.

According to the party

an ombudsman on the internet could guarantee the protection of digital freedom of opinion. The creation of this institution and office would ensure that it is not the managers of global companies who decide what fits into free speech and what constitutes hate speech.

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Taxes

The MSZP supports efforts to tax technicians, which are also being addressed by the European Parliament and the European Commission, and is one of the possible sources of income for the EU.

According to the Socialists, it is not that these companies have to be involved in financing the development of the union, but they believe that this can only be achieved at the level of European coordination, individual Member States cannot agree with them.

As for content regulation, especially if the Hungarian government tries to force it into our country for political reasons, it’s scary

– add in their reply that the deliberate manipulation techniques of fake news factories must be filtered and that illegal content must not appear on the surfaces,

however, in terms of content, the subsequent decision is in the hands of the users.

There is land

On behalf of the LMP, Co-Chair Máté Kanász-Nagy said about the Index:

Tech companies have not been chosen by anyone, yet they have an impact and influence on an increasing part of our lives. This is extremely worrying, regulation certainly has a field.

DK said, at our request, that they would support international and EU regulation for global tech companies.

(Cover image: Judit Varga with Csaba Rigó,
consulted with the president of the Office of Economic Competition on reverse business practices of international digital companies on January 19, 2021. Photo: Judit Varga / Facebook)