Confirmation that the Hungarian Internet  is at risk comes has been submitted to the European Parliament, by a  security organisation  which monitors for breaches of free speech in the new East European democracies.

Condemnation of the Hungarian Media Law continued last week with a letter to the European Parliament. The European Parliament's Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee has been told of  a number of serious concerns with the  Law.  The concerns were raised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - an international    organisation which monitors security and other issues in the former Eastern bloc - which wrote to the Libe committee last week.

In a letter seen by iptegrity.com, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media is sharply critical of the Hungarian Media Law,

Read more: MEPs briefed on web sanctions in Hungarian Media Law

European Commission  to examine Hungarian Media law.  Changes  will be required if  the law  breaches fundamental rights.

Speaking this morning at a European Parliament hearing organised by the Liberal group, European Commissioner  Neelie Kroes said that the new Hungarian Media law "seemed to raise a problem under the AVMS directive" and risked breaching fundamental rights in a number of different ways.

In a strong speech in which she reiterated Europe's commitment to

Read more: EU: Hungarian Media law may pose risk to free speech

 The Hungarian presidency of the European Union has been thrown under  an aggressive global media   spotlight, in the wake of a recently-enacted  Media Law, which threatens censorship of all media, traditional and Internet. 

It really is not the sort of PR that the Hungarian government would have hoped for when it takes over the EU Presidency  this Saturday. But a barrage of  attacks in the foreign media, including being accused by the UK's Daily Mail of bringing in a "communist-style measure"  to gag the media,  and by al Jazeera English of its ‘unsuitability' to hold the EU presidency, sets it up for a rocky ride over the next 6 months.

The anger of the world's media against  the Hungarian government has been prompted by  a new Media Law which threatens  freedom of speech. The law will affect material published on  the Internet, although  its scope is much wider.

The Hungarian Media Law  regulates all media, both traditional print, radio and television, as well as the Internet. It imposes fines for failure to comply with government-defined criteria not to offend "public morality, churches, nationalities or minorities."

The story appears to have  leaped into the global media  following a European Commission

Read more: Media storm as EU targets Hungary over censorship law