Hungary Under Fire For Media Law As It Prepares To Take EU Helm

European human rights and Internet groups are urging the European Union to pressure Hungary to change a controversial media law that went into effect at the beginning of the month and places new restrictions on Internet and other content providers.

Hungary is set to take over the six-month presidency of the European Union on Jan 6. The country's new law requires all content providers including newspapers, broadcast outlets and online websites to register with a Hungarian government media authority and ensure they provide balanced coverage or face possible fines or restrictions. Several groups in Europe are participating in an online protest Wednesday of the Hungarian law by blacking out their websites. One of the participating groups, the French Internet freedom group La Quadrature du Net, wrote the European Commission and president of the European Parliament Wednesday calling on them to take "urgent and concrete steps" to oppose the Hungarian law.