Hungary’s justice ministry submits privacy protection bill to parliament

The justice ministry on Tuesday said it has submitted to parliament a bill on privacy protection.

The bill would guarantee protection against harassment and declare that people cannot be disturbed in their homes, the ministry said in a statement.

The changes in everyday communication brought about by the spread of modern infocommunication technologies mean that privacy protection must now apply to both the physical world and the internet, the statement said. Individual dignity and privacy rights must now also be guaranteed on social media, it added.

The bill would also guarantee the protection of individual privacy with regard to content shared online for private viewing.

On the subject of privacy protection in the home, the ministry noted that the Constitutional Court in 2016 called on policymakers to harmonise laws concerning the constitutional right to assembly and the right to privacy.

The groundwork for this was laid by the seventh amendment to the constitution passed last week, the ministry said. That amendment declares that exercising the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly must not violate the privacy of others.

The ministry said the bill, modelled on German law, respects and guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and is in line with international standards.

Source: MTI