Of the successor states of the former Austro–Hungarian Empire
Greater Romania was the one whose establishment was a special case—unlike Czechoslovakia and the State of the Slovenes
the Kingdom of Romania existed even before World War I
became ‘Greater Romania’ with the resolutions of a series of national assemblies
declaring the accession of the formerly Hungarian territories
The date of the annexation of Transylvania was chosen as the national day of the new Romania
After the National Council of Romania called the meeting of the General Congress of Bukovina
which voted in favour of accession to Romania on 28 November 1918
all the attention of the Romanians of Transylvania
the Romanian national movement gained steam in Transylvania
emphasizing the Romanian people’s right to unite as one country
The executive committee of the Romanian National Party and the prominent Romanian Social Democrat politicians at the time decided to form the National Council of Romania in September–October of that year
the National Party’s meeting took place on 12 October 1918 in Nagyvárad (Oradea)
where the gathered representatives assessed the state of the Austro–Hungarian Empire
they decided to issue a declaration to the Romanian people and another one to the Emperor
A statement drafted by Vasile Goldiş was also accepted
which was meant to be read in front of the Hungarian National Assembly
To achieve what was outlined in those documents
while the rest of the members were Iuliu Maniu
Since three out of the six of them lived in Arad
they decided that the Committee would hold their sessions there
Romanian Assembly Representative Alexandru Vaida-Voevod read the declaration in front of the Hungarian parliament on 18 October 1918
on the exact day that the peace proposal by the Austro–Hungarian Empire was rejected by the Entente; while Count István Tisza informed House members that the monarchy was defeated
Voevod’s speech was ‘a harsh indictment’ of the Monarchy’s policies suppressing national minorities and the Tisza administration’s measures of ‘drastic Hungarianization’
He stated that the Romanian National Party wished to exercise its national right to self-determination
they did not recognize the Hungarian State and parliament’s authority to decide on the fate of ‘the Romanian nation’ living in Hungary
which can only be done by a Romanian National Assembly to be convened
He also declared that a Transylvanian Romanian delegate would be sent to the peace negotiations to represent the interests of Romanians living in Hungary; then went on to state that only the executive committee of the Romanian National Party could negotiate and decide on their fate
and agreement negotiated by any other entity would be viewed as null and void
the Romanian representative was warned twice that what he was saying went against the Constitution of Hungary
This speech triggered a strong international response
This is how Romanian politician Ion Gheorghe Duca recalled these events:
‘The news of Vaida-Voevod’s speech in front of the Budapest parliament had reached us as well
it was a sign of the liberation of our Transylvanian brothers
When Brătianu read the speech aloud to us at the Jászvásár (Iași) conference
we all cried tears of joy and got very emotional.’ 
The Paris-based newspaper La Roumanie pointed out the following: ‘Romanians are not a nationality anymore; they are a nation
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is a thing of the past
Nations have the right to act on their own
this is an internationally recognized fact
as well as a question of integrity and humanitarianism’
31 October 1918 can also be considered a major historical event
when the delegates of the Romanian parties gathered at the Vadászkürt Hotel in Budapest and established the Romanian National Council on a parity basis
Six Civic Party and six Social Democratic Party politicians were included
and Iosif Renoi became members; while the National Party delegated Teodor Mihali
Ştefan Cicio-Pop was elected President of the Council
while the duties of the Director-General were performed by Gheorghe Crişan
In accordance with the arrangement made in October
the Council chose the city of Arad as its seat
The Romanian National Council was trying to convince all that it was the only entity to represent the interests of the Romanians of Transylvania
The leaders of the Orthodox Church of Romania and the Greek Catholic Church of Romania were referring to Cicio-Pop and his associates as ‘the interim government of the Romanian people’ and the ‘supreme authority of the Romanian people’ in public statements
The clergy was called upon to take an oath of loyalty
The Romanian National Central Council was fully aware that the first milestone of unification would be normalizing relations with the Hungarian National Council and the Budapest government
they issued an ultimatum to the Hungarian government
‘The rapid development of events led us to our conviction that
and in the interest of our nation and of the minorities living with us
and the protection of persons and private property
we must take over the full governing authority in parts of Hungary and Transylvania that are populated by Romanians
These areas include the following counties: Torontál
and Csík (Ciuc); as well as the parts of Békés
and Ugocsa counties populated by Romanians.’ 
They also demanded the establishment of mixed committees to facilitate the transfer of power and declared that they would create a Transylvanian–Romanian government based in Nagyszeben
The deadline for the reply to the ultimatum was set to 12 November
The Romanian leadership did not view their ultimatum as a compromise
This was backed up by an article published in the local paper Românul
which said that the national assembly in the making would have the right to decide the fate of the Romanian nation
the time had come to create a unified Romanian nation state
Negotiations between the Hungarian National Council
and the Romanian National Central Council took place between 13 and 15 November in Arad
The reply to the ultimatum by the Hungarians was delivered by Oszkár Jászi
the leader of the delegation; the response—according to the Romanians—was a proposal that made virtually no efforts to meet the demands outlined in the ultimatum
The Hungarian proposal suggested that Transylvania would gain autonomy as part of Hungary
the Hungarian government would have yielded leadership to the Romanian National Council ‘only’ in counties where the majority of the local population was Romanian
they were thinking of creating a Swiss-style system of cantons until the peace treaty that ended the war was finalized
the fact that the state of Hungary was attempting to maintain its unity meant that the negotiations could not be successful
The Arad negotiations and the ‘solution’ offered by the Hungarian delegation further encouraged the Romanian leaders to convene a national assembly
The request by a group of young people to call an assembly of the Romanian National Council prompted Goldiş to start thinking about the venue
which had been the site of the Romanian demonstration in 1848
contacts with Romanian politicians in the Romanian Old Kingdom have been made
and meetings became more frequent during November
As a representative of Alexandru Vaida-Voevod and Teodor Mihali
reporting on events and the situation in Transylvania
The delegates stressed the importance of realizing the union between Transylvania and Romania
Oaneanak Brătianu handed over a letter dated 14 November
which he had to deliver to the members of the Romanian National Central Council
This letter stated that it was important to convene a national assembly in Transylvania
where the participating Romanians would proclaim the unconditional unification with the Kingdom of Romania
Brătianu’s letter also raised some issues regarding the organization of the National Assembly
another delegation—Professor Nicoale Bălan and Captain Victor Precup—arrived in Jászvásár
Coandă (President of the Council of Ministers)
The Romanian politicians wrote a letter to Vasile Goldiş summarizing the essential elements of the discussions held in Jászvásár and informed him how they saw the situation and what steps they proposed to Romanians in Transylvania
Romanian politicians advised the Romanian National Central Council to break all ties with the Hungarian Government
and convene the National Assembly as soon as possible
The most suitable venue for this was found to be the city of Gyulafehervár
They also drew the attention of their Transylvanian brothers and sisters to the importance of the largest possible participation
and that the participants should be representatives of the local councils
They also informed that thanks to the intervention of Saint-Aulaire
both the British and the Americans were now aware that the Romanian Transylvanian’s desire to unite with the Kingdom of Romania was unchangeable and that there was no particular objection to this
The letter stressed that any referendum would be redundant—the announcement of unification is eagerly awaited by the Romanian public and by Romanian politicians in Jászvásár
who suggested that the Romanians in Transylvania should announce the unification on the same day as it happened in Bukovina because that way the Paris Peace Conference could consider it as the same referendum which would seriously influence its decision
After the unsuccessful negotiations with the Hungarian delegation
the Romanian National Central Council tried to keep in touch with the Romanian politicians in Jászvásár
George Crişan and Toader Roxin left Arad on 16 November and met Valeriu Branişte in Lugos
who was tasked with contacting and negotiating with General Franchet d’Espérey on how to bring Romanian units that had been in the Monarchy at the end of the war to Transylvania
From there Crişan and Roxin travelled beyond the Carpathians
They went first to Craiova and then to Bucharest
from where they returned to Gyulafehérvár with Pan Halippa
the Romanian National Central Council began to organize the National Assembly
It drafted the necessary rules for the election of the participating delegates
while on 18 November Vasile Goldiş drafted a manifesto addressed to the peoples of the world
in which he was much clearer than before about the secessionist aspirations
16.) The manifesto was also translated from Romanian into French and English
After describing the ‘oppressive’ policy of the Hungarians towards the Romanians and the rejectionist attitude of the Budapest government
the manifesto made public the ‘general will’ of the Romanians in Transylvania: they did not wish to live under the ‘oppression’ of others in ‘their own ancestral land’—they wanted an ‘independent and autonomous’ country
in which freedom would be guaranteed to other peoples as well
Two days after the publication of the manifesto
the call for a National Assembly to be held in Gyulafehérvár (the ‘historic city of the Romanian nation’) on 1 December was published
beginning with the words ‘History calls us to action’
The 21 November issue of the newspaper Românul
and Greek Catholic Church leaders Demetriu Radu
and Iuliu Hossu once again expressed their ‘conviction’ that self-determination is in the Romanian national interest and that the Romanian National Central Council is the only political formation that can represent the Romanian people in Hungary and Transylvania
who was in Budapest at the end of November
in order to avoid bloodshed—the Hungarian Government would not prevent them from holding the planned assembly
the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) had provided special trains for those who wanted to attend the event in Gyulafehervár
the election of the Romanian delegates also began
Some of the 1,228 delegates were elected by open ballot (in accordance with the traditional Transylvanian constituencies and the Monarchy’s rules)
which in some places became a kind of folk festival among the Romanians
it is no coincidence that the national-liberal newspaper Mişcarea already informed its readers of the preparations as a ‘foregone conclusion’
and other regions of Hungary also came to Gyulafehérvár
whose number exceeded 50,000—some arrived by train
As Romanian writer Lucian Blaga put it: ‘On one side of the road
the wagons of the Romanians were moving towards the city
each one of them resounding with a whine and filled with elation
the German army from Romania was retreating.’
Although the Assembly was announced for 1 December
the debate on the accession with prominent representatives of the Romanian National Central Council already started on 30 November
argued in favour of autonomy for Transylvania within Greater Romania
while the majority of Nationalists and representatives of expatriates argued against autonomy and in favour of unconditional accession
The sometimes heated debate was dominated by the opinion of Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
who argued that a majority of Transylvanian
and Bessarabia Romanians over the Romanians of the Old Romanian Kingdom was in itself a guarantee of more democratic system
Iuliu Maniu stressed that attaching any conditions to the accession would damage Romania’s reputation
which was essentially reflected in the text of the manifesto presented the following day
but nevertheless included in the draft resolution—which was unanimously adopted—was the plan for ‘provisional autonomy’ until the Constituent Assembly met
Te Deum was sung in both Romanian churches in Gyulafehérvár and a meeting took place in the casino building
Cicio-Pop highlighted the historical significance of the meeting and the moment
followed by the President of the newly formed Assembly
Vasile Goldiş also gave a ceremonial speech
only when Transylvania is united with Romania can Romanians in Transylvania become free
He declared that after the unification with Romania
all citizens living on ‘Romanian soil’ would enjoy the same rights as the state-creating nation
The National Assembly paid tribute to the Romanian ‘heroes’ who ‘gave their blood in the war for the Romanian cause
died for freedom and the unification of the Romanian nation’
It also expressed its admiration for the Entente
which ‘saved civilization from the clutches of barbarism’
Iuliu Maniu called on the National Assembly to adopt the resolution that would create a united Romania forever and that would ‘bring true democracy and social justice’
Iosif Jumanca declared that Romanian Social Democrats also agree with the unification because workers have always been in favour of national unity
Gheorghe Pop de Băşeşti proposed the adoption of the resolution
which was unanimously approved by those present
the National Assembly adopted the idea of creating a Grand National Council of 200 members
In front of a crowd of tens of thousands (more than 50,000 according to the most recent Romanian historiography) gathered in Horea
the delegates solemnly read aloud the text of the manifestos
which was received with ‘indescribable enthusiasm’ by the audience
The crowd chanted together: ‘Long live Romanian unification
57.) Lofty words were spoken by Miron Cristea
pointing out the greatness and importance of the moment and the tasks ahead
Lucian Blaga wrote about the event as follows:
there was no room for me in the casino hall
I could walk back and forth all day long and be present in the field where the people were gathered
Here and there were podiums from which to address the assembled people
The peculiarity of the situation allowed one to overlook the mistakes of the inexperienced speakers on the rostrums.’
Although the unification fulfilled the Romanians’ wish
the Hungarians’ aspirations for self-determination in Transylvania were ignored
The annexation of Transylvania to Romania was finally enshrined by the Treaty of Paris
Partium és a Máramaros vidék csatlakozása Nagy-Romániához: Gyulafehérvár
Fejezetek a versaillesi Közép-Európa történetéből
A Lex Apponyi a Tisza István- féle magyar-román közeledési kísérlet tükrében’
Románia és az erdélyi kérdés 1918–1920-ban
Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Történettudományi Intézet
A magyarországi Román Nemzeti Párt az első világháború végén
Vasile Goldiş – militant pentru desăvîrşirea idealului national 1 decembrie 1918
De la independenţă la Marea Unire (1878–1918)’
’Magyar nemzetiségpolitikai kísérletek és a román álláspont 1918 őszén’
Crestomație de texte și documente 1918–1919
Muzeul Maramureșului și Asociațiunea pentru cultura poporului român din Maramureș
http://romanialacentenar.ro/hu/unirea-bucovinei-cu-romania/
http://www.romania-actualitati.ro/victor_precup_profilul_unei_ascensiuni-119055
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political
philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective
Appendix I: Response from the Office of the Prime Minister
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party won a fourth term in national elections
cementing its dominance with a two-thirds majority that will allow it to continue traveling what critics of the party and many others would describe as the path of centralizing power and rolling back democratic safeguards
International observers characterized the elections as free but raised serious concerns about their fairness
These included blurring the lines between the government and the ruling party in campaigning
which amplified the advantage of the ruling coalition
and lack of balance in campaign coverage in the press
Fidesz’s effective control over large sections of the media
undermining the independence of the judiciary and public institutions
and curbing of civil society has received considerable attention from international media and international observers
which helped the party reach voters in new
This report examines how data-driven campaigning in Hungary’s 2022 elections exacerbated an already uneven playing field and undermined the right to privacy
It also documents new forms of misuse of personal data collected by the government and used for political campaigning by Fidesz in the 2022 elections
parties across the political spectrum in Hungary
including building detailed voter databases
running online petitions and consultations to collect data
and conducting direct outreach to voters and supporters through robocalls
Such use and exploitation of data helped to undermine privacy
and the right of Hungarians to participate in democratic elections
which relies on political parties having equality of opportunity to compete for voters’ support
State capture of institutions responsible for administering the elections
and protecting people’s data has led to selective enforcement of laws that further benefit the ruling party
the parties and international observers have paid insufficient attention to how emerging campaigning tactics impact human rights
Privacy is a human right recognized under international and regional human rights treaties
Comprehensive data protection laws are essential for protecting the right to privacy as well as the related freedoms that depend on our ability to make choices about how and with whom we share information about ourselves
International and regional standards also recognize the human right to participate in democratic elections
A level electoral playing field is a necessary condition for the enjoyment of this right
public resources should not be used to tilt the electoral playing field in one party’s favor
The report finds that data collected by the state for administering public services
and mandatory membership in professional associations
was repurposed to spread Fidesz’s campaign messages
Evidence indicates that the government of Hungary has collaborated with the ruling party in the way it has used personal data in political campaigns
combined with the severe weakening of the political institutions responsible for safeguarding people’s right to privacy and guaranteeing an even political playing field
This report also investigates how Hungary’s opposition parties used data in their campaigns
the opposition parties did not have access to broad swaths of voters’ data
Rather they relied on traditional data collection methods (such as in-person and online petitions and signature gathering) as well as the services of private digital campaigning companies and tools provided by social media platforms
The opposition parties processing of personal data lacked sufficient transparency and risked undermining privacy but unlike the ruling party there is no evidence that its handling of data created unfairness in the election process
Data-driven technologies are increasingly becoming the norm in modern political campaigning across many countries and will likely grow as the availability of digital technologies and personal data on voters becomes more prevalent
international and Hungarian nongovernmental organizations
and independent journalists have published reports which have raised concerns about Fidesz’s significant influence on local media
lack of independence of judicial institutions
and blurring of resources between state and party resources
This report seeks to contribute to a growing body of research that situates the use—and misuse—of data in specific political contexts and to surface key human rights concerns around data-driven technologies and political campaigns
It does not assess the efficacy or desirability of the use of data-driven technologies in political campaigns
Nor does it imply that the use—or misuse—of data-driven campaigning was a decisive factor in the outcome of Hungary’s 2022 elections
Social media platforms also played an important
online political ads created new opportunities for opposition campaigns to reach voters in an environment from which they are largely shut out of traditional advertising spaces
since domestic laws regulating campaign spending limits are not being applied to online ads
the availability of Facebook advertising in particular has tremendously benefitted Fidesz
which with its outsized resources outspent the opposition
including Facebook—the most widely used platform for online political ads in Hungary—provided a degree of transparency into campaign spending
by offering limited insight into spending on political ads with their ad libraries
many of the ways in which platforms allow political parties
to target political advertising are inherently opaque
it is impossible for independent watchdog organizations or regulators to reach a clear conclusion when investigating whether or not the targeting of online political ads was discriminatory in targeting or excluded someone by relying directly or indirectly on sensitive data
The data sharing and profiling involved in advertising targeting generally introduces heightened privacy concerns in an electoral context
and can be used to unduly influence individuals when it comes to political discourse and democratic electoral processes
Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
private companies have a responsibility to respect the right to privacy and to mitigate and remedy rights abuses
including those that contribute to the undermining of privacy and the right to participate in democratic elections
The Hungarian government should end the use for electoral campaigns of personal data collected by the government while performing public functions and providing public services
and should guarantee a level playing field around elections
It should rectify the current shortcomings in laws
including by ensuring the independence of institutions responsible for administering elections and protecting people’s data
the European Union (EU) has responded in a muted manner to Hungary’s backtracking on the rule of law
refusing to acknowledge or speak out against the systematic erosion of democratic institutions and human rights
The EU should urgently assess whether the exploitation of personal data collected by the Hungarian government for political campaigning is consistent with EU laws
it should ensure that EU funds granted to support the digitization of public services in Hungary do not result in or contribute to violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and other EU law
The European Commission should bring infringement proceedings against Hungary for any violations of EU law
Political parties in Hungary should be more transparent concerning how they collect and process voters’ data and demonstrate that they are taking their responsibility to respect people’s privacy seriously
which have become the de facto infrastructure of the global public square
should urgently take steps to release adequate information to voters in Hungary and elsewhere on why they are seeing an online political advertisement and which individual
or institution is responsible for placing it
both in advertising libraries and in real time
They should also ensure that ad targeting and delivery are not
based on observed or inferred special categories of data
Failure to take adequate steps to ensure that personal data is not misused by political campaigns risks further eroding human rights
While this report focuses on Hungary's unique political landscape around the 2022 election campaigns
the heightened dependence on data in electoral campaigns
and the increased digitization of public services raise serious human rights concerns
Based on research conducted between November 2021 and August 2022
this report documents how data-driven political campaigning in Hungary’s April 3
elections contributed to an already uneven playing field
with the ruling party enjoying undue advantage
and undermining the right to privacy and other rights
This report relies on a combination of desk research
interviews with experts and with people whose data was misused
Human Rights Watch analyzed court decisions and decisions from the data protection authority
reports by human rights organizations and legal aid service providers
Desk research informed the report’s understanding of the use of data in previous Hungarian elections
and the broader state of human rights and the rule of law in Hungary
and representatives of political parties and companies involved in data-driven campaigning in the April 2022 elections
Human Rights Watch interviewed 9 people whose data was misused in by political campaigns: 5 in person
All interviewees freely consented to the interviews
and Human Rights Watch explained to them the purpose of the interview and did not offer any remuneration
Human Rights Watch also explained to them that they could stop the interview at any time and decline to answer any question
All interviews were conducted in English or Hungarian with interpretation into English and covered a range of topics related to unsolicited and/or unwanted communications from political campaigns
The interpreter was identified by a Hungarian speaking staff member and interviewees were identified the others with the help of a Hungarian civil rights organization
The average length of each interview was approximately one hour
The names of most people reporting misuse of their data interviewed for this report have been replaced with pseudonyms to protect their privacy and to protect against reprisal
These pseudonyms are indicated clearly as such with quotation marks on the first use
Human Rights Watch obtained informed consent after discussing the potential risks
The interviews with affected voters are presented as case studies
giving insight into the experiences of Hungarian voters and contributing evidence of the abuses documented
Interviews with experts informed the report’s understanding of the use of data in previous Hungarian elections
In April 2022 Human Rights Watch wrote to all major political parties and campaigns to request interviews
Human Rights Watch interviewed 5 political parties in May 2022 in person
All interviews were conducted in English or Hungarian with interpretation into English and covered a range of topics related to the party or campaign’s approach to data-driven campaigning
the importance of data-driven campaigning and online political ads in Hungarian elections
efforts taken to protect personal data collected and processed on voters
Human Rights Watch sent follow-up letters to all major political parties in August and September 2022 to request additional information and to provide them with the right to reply
Human Rights Watch also wrote to companies implicated in the report between August and October 2022
including the National Election Commission (NEC)
the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH)
and the State Audit Office (SAO) in October 2022
Their responses are incorporated into the report
Human Rights Watch shared the main findings of this report with the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary
including concerning the government’s use of personal data in political campaigning and measures it has taken to ensure an equal electoral playing field and the full independence of relevant institutions
The officials have not responded to our letters at time of writing
The report focuses on the use of data-driven political campaigning by the main political forces contending in the 2022 elections. It includes the ruling coalition (made up of Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People's Party) and the six parties and political movement that comprised the joint opposition (United for Hungary)<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title>[2]</a>
This report focuses on the data-driven campaign techniques that were most prevalent in political campaigns in Hungary’s 2022 elections
Since these are not directly related to the main political blocs
they fall outside of the scope of this report
This report covers the use of databases and technical systems to which Human Rights Watch did not have direct access
the research relied on the following: examining and verifying campaign messages (primarily through interviews and reviewing screenshots); interviewing and writing to political parties and campaigns; relying on reports from whistleblowers and investigative journalists; reviewing analysis of publicly available data on online political ads placed on Facebook
conducting technical analysis of the websites of political parties and campaigns; and reviewing privacy policies of political parties and campaigns
This methodology comes with certain limitations
Since Human Rights Watch did not have access to the underlying voter databases on which parties relied for their campaigns
the report is not able to independently verify what personal data on voters they contain
Because the research’s findings in part rely on responses from political parties and campaigns
it contains more information and insight into those that were more forthcoming
Since members of the United for Hungary coalition were more responsive to Human Rights Watch’s inquiries than Fidesz-KDNP
the report contains more detailed findings on some aspects of their campaigns
affected voters who came forward hesitated in sharing their personal experiences because they felt that what happened to them was happening at a widespread level and experienced a sense of resignation
the interviews function as case studies or testimonies and do not aim to be representative or scale of abuses experienced
The country’s main opposition parties put aside their differences to run as a united front against Fidesz and its coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP). Changes to the electoral law in 2020 in effect forced opposition parties to join in running a single national list against Fidesz in order to meet the new minimum requirements.<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title>[9]</a>
Hungarian opposition parties decided to organize a “pre-election” to select a prime ministerial candidate and to select common candidates for single-member districts around which they could form a unified coalition in the parliamentary elections
The first round of the pre-election was held from September 12 to 27
and the second round from October 10 to 16
The opposition coalition made up of the Democratic Coalition (Demokratikus Koalíció or DK)
Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt or MSZP)
the Green Party (Magyarország Zöld Pártja or LMP)
and Dialogue for Hungary (Párbeszéd Magyarországért)
collectively became known as Egységben Magyarországért
The opposition candidate for prime minister
Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom (Everybody for Hungary Movement
which joined efforts with United for Hungary
Digital technologies have transformed key components of electoral and democratic processes, including campaigning by political parties. Personal data can be understood as a political asset. Political parties are creating their own datasets for two primary reasons: as political intelligence – to help inform campaign strategies and test and adapt campaign messaging – and as political influence.<a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title>[10]</a>
Data-driven campaigning consists of not just online political ads, but different ways in which personal data is used in efforts to understand, engage, and influence citizens in political campaigns.<a href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title>[11]</a> For example
political campaigns build and maintain voter databases of personal data to help them gain insight into their base and potential new supporters
and to tailor messages to what they want to hear
They collect personal data on potential voters through canvassing
and events in order to expand their databases to stay in touch with supporters and mobilize them to vote on election day
Data-driven campaigning can facilitate new ways to reach potential supporters
Political parties also make use of private platforms
and data brokers to help them profile and target new supporters with political advertising
Privacy is a human right, as recognized by international and regional human rights treaties to which Hungary is party.<a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" title>[12]</a> Privacy is also protected by Hungarian law.<a href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title>[13]</a>
may provide more precise guidance tailored to the unique political
institutional and cultural conditions of their own democratic states
The E-Commerce Act<a href="#_ftn25" name="_ftnref25" title>[25]</a> and the act on Electronic Communications (E-Comms) Act<a href="#_ftn26" name="_ftnref26" title>[26]</a> are relevant to political marketing
The E-Commerce Act regulates the use of email addresses and SMSs
and the E-Comms act regulates phone calls (whether automated or not
using either randomly generated numbers or not)
emails and automated phone calls requires prior consent (opt-in)
according to the E-Commerce and E-Comms acts
where users are by default listed in a "phone book" (either physical or digital)
unless they request not to be listed or labeled as a person who would not like to receive advertisement despite their number being public
In 2020, a client of the HCLU won a lawsuit against Fidesz for the illegal handling of his data during the 2019 municipal elections.<a href="#_ftn28" name="_ftnref28" title>[28]</a> The client claimed that he never gave his contact details to the party
yet Fidesz sent him campaign materials via email
Fidesz could not prove that it had obtained the data legally
In December 2012, a whistleblower named Gergely Tomanovics (who went by the pseudonym Gery Greyhound) made public<a href="#_ftn32" name="_ftnref32" title>[32]</a> a 2009 video<a href="#_ftn33" name="_ftnref33" title>[33]</a> produced by Fidesz
which explained how the Kubatov list system works at the campaign level
Tomanovics reportedly worked for Fidesz for years
But the site was either migrated to another domain or taken offline following the news report
According to experts interviewed by Human Rights Watch and independent media, the database enables Fidesz to have detailed insights into the electorate<a href="#_ftn42" name="_ftnref42" title>[42]</a> and when elections come, Fidesz sends each constituency the part of the database they can work with specific target numbers of voters to mobilize.<a href="#_ftn43" name="_ftnref43" title>[43]</a>
there is no participation requirement attached to it
and its result is not binding for the government
Human Rights Watch could not independently verify whether national consultations fed into the database
but the allegation was stated consistently in multiple interviews with experts
Miklos Ligeti, Head of Legal Affairs for Transparency International- Hungary told Human Rights Watch that profiling voters based on their political preferences without obtaining valid consent is unlawful. Basic information on voters in order to get out the vote should be deleted after the elections, not retained for years.<a href="#_ftn57" name="_ftnref57" title>[57]</a>
The company has worked with multiple parties in Hungary on the opposition side
According to the independent news outlet Átlátszó, which published an investigative piece on Datadat in 2020, the company ran a Facebook ad campaign that contributed to the electoral successes for the united opposition in the 2019 municipal elections.<a href="#_ftn59" name="_ftnref59" title>[59]</a> The elections
in which the opposition had limited resources in the face of overwhelming political
resulted in surprise wins for opposition groups in Budapest and several other large cities
Átlátszó reported that Datadat was responsible for targeting the Facebook ads of EzaLényeg
whose reporting included carefully crafted and targeted messages aiming to resonate with various electoral groups
Átlátszó also reported that several DK candidates listed Datadat as their data processor
which gives the ruling party overwhelming superiority in its ability to campaign and impunity for its violations and abuses of national law and international human rights standards
Prime Minister Orbán declared a second state of danger
The state of danger gives Orbán sweeping powers to rule by decree
and suspend laws at short notice with very limited to no judicial oversight
The National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) is the public authority responsible for monitoring and enforcing the rights to the protection of personal data and freedom of information. The NAIH’s head is chosen by the prime minister and appointed by the president. The president has a purely ceremonial role and can only deny nominees under very narrow conditions.<a href="#_ftn72" name="_ftnref72" title>[72]</a>
the NAIH determined that the investigation against Panyi was unfounded
and the proceedings against him were terminated
With regard to election-related data protection abuses, the NAIH has conducted itself in a selective manner, subjecting opposition parties to close scrutiny. For example, in a positive step, in February 2021 the NAIH issued extensive guidance on data protection requirements concerning the processing of personal data by political parties and organizations. <a href="#_ftn77" name="_ftnref77" title>[77]</a> However
its enforcement has mainly focused on opposition parties and when it came to credible allegations of Fidesz’s maintaining a database of voters’ personal data containing their political views
by which public bodies are obliged to notify individuals when collecting their personal data
with general information simply published electronically on purpose and scope of processing
the government’s domination of the media means that Fidesz overwhelmingly enjoys superiority in favorable coverage
The opposition has little opportunity to get its message out
The OSCE election observation mission found:
The OSCE election observation mission’s final report added that coverage on some public and government-affiliated private media displayed a clear bias in favor of the government and Fidesz, and “[a]s a rule…lacked any clear distinction between coverage of the government and the ruling party”.<a href="#_ftn94" name="_ftnref94" title>[94]</a>
According to Áron Demeter, program director at Amnesty International Hungary, “If you go against the government or your case interferes with political goals, there is definitely a chance that [the government] can put either formal or informal pressure on the court.”<a href="#_ftn100" name="_ftnref100" title>[100]</a>
Hungarian civil society organizations have documented how the SAO has for decades been underusing its powers and has proven incapable to uncover and sanction questionable spending by political parties, who tend to underreport expenditure.<a href="#_ftn112" name="_ftnref112" title>[112]</a> They have also documented a pattern of the SAO imposing excessive fines on opposition parties, which is seen by many as the misuse of powers.<a href="#_ftn113" name="_ftnref113" title>[113]</a>
campaign spending on online political ads does not factor into official accounting for campaign expenditures unless parties proactively report it to the SAO
but the fact that iPads and tablets may have been given some form of access to the list
the Hungarian government denied it has misused personal data for political purposes leading up to the 2022 elections
in particular claiming people agreed to be contacted by the government when they signed up for a newsletter on the vaccine registration website and that the government did not violate regulations on sending unsolicited SMS/Automated calls
Voters told Human Rights Watch they were bombarded with political campaign messages through email
in addition to traditional forms of campaigning
Some were outraged by the unsolicited campaign messages and propaganda from the ruling party that they received as a result of signing up for public services
Human Rights Watch was not able to determine how widespread this phenomenon was
Of the nine people who shared their experiences with Human Rights Watch concerning misuse of their data
four said they received unwanted phone calls and text messages from Fidesz encouraging them to vote for the party on election day
without recalling that they have provided their phone numbers for campaigning purposes
The fact that it was documented in previous years suggests these are not isolated incidents
Alex B., a 27-year-old male voter from Szeged, told Human Rights Watch that he received multiple phone calls on his mobile phone from three different phone numbers with a recorded message from a Fidesz candidate encouraging him to support the candidate by going out and voting on election day and also to remember the achievements of Fidesz.<a href="#_ftn120" name="_ftnref120" title>[120]</a> 
He checked the numbers displayed on his mobile phone when he received the calls
which showed that all three were registered to Fidesz
when I didn’t give my phone number to them…It kind of pissed me off,” said Alex B
‘Csaba’, a 48-year-old male voter from Pest county, a county in central Hungary that surrounds Budapest, received an automated phone call from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the week before the elections encouraging him to support Fidesz.<a href="#_ftn123" name="_ftnref123" title>[123]</a> “There was so much communication in the last five to six days before the elections,” said ‘Csaba’
‘Csaba’ told Human Rights Watch that he had given his number to the Chamber of Agriculture to register his business and speculated that this may be the reason why he was the Prime Minister’s campaign was able to call him
&nbsp;‘Ágnes Kovács’, 35, a Hungarian voter who lives abroad, told Human Rights Watch that she received a phone call on her Hungarian phone number on April 1, two days before the election, urging her to vote for Fidesz.<a href="#_ftn124" name="_ftnref124" title>[124]</a> “I picked up the phone
‘Who are you looking for?’ In the meantime
‘I'm Viktor Orbán.” ‘Ágnes Kovács’ told Human Rights Watch that she " definitely didn't provide [her] phone number to the party or campaign in any way." She noted that she has limited interactions with the Hungarian government because she lives abroad
The only instance in which she recalls providing her phone number was when registering for the Covid-19 vaccine
On December 7, 2020, the Hungarian government launched a website for Hungarian citizens and residents to register for the Covid-19 vaccine.<a href="#_ftn127" name="_ftnref127" title>[127]</a> When signing up on the site, people were directed to accept the privacy policy<a href="#_ftn128" name="_ftnref128" title>[128]</a> and were given the option to opt-in and consent to the processing of contact details for future contact purposes
the vast majority of the emails that the Coronavirus Information Centre
which is managed by the Government Information Center managed by the Office of the Prime Minister
sent out to its distribution list were related to the vaccination registration effort
Human Rights Watch reviewed 16 emails sent to the distribution list in 2021
Fourteen emails provided information on Covid vaccination
one email provided information about an upcoming national consultation on life after the pandemic
and one email contained political messaging on matters unrelated to Covid
the email communicated that from January 1
the minimum wage will rise to 200,000 forints (approximately 455 USD) and the minimum wage for skilled workers to 260,000 forints (approximately 590 USD)
reducing the tax paid by employers from 17 to 13 percent
extra financial support for elderly and young citizens was announced
in the form of changes to pensions and income taxes
By using personal data submitted to the government for the purpose of being informed about Covid vaccines to disseminate political and electoral messaging
the government misused citizens’ personal data
Several people Human Rights Watch interviewed reported feeling like they were taken advantage of by the government in a particularly vulnerable and fearful moment
Some reported that they were typically hesitant to share their personal information with the government but did so in order to register for the Covid vaccine because they felt they had no choice
Maria G., a 67-year-old voter from Budapest, signed up in early 2021 when the registration site was first opened: “I definitely wanted to be vaccinated and I remember that at first.”<a href="#_ftn133" name="_ftnref133" title>[133]</a> She explained
in the first wave of promoting the vaccine
they said that “only those who register will be vaccinated.” Later on
“but at the beginning they made registration a condition of receiving vaccination.” Maria G.
also said she is generally suspicious of signing up for things with the government
but “fear [of the virus] overcame my suspicion,” she said
‘Zsofia’, a 36-year-old Hungarian woman from the Budapest metropolitan area, told Human Rights Watch that in the context of the fear and uncertainty caused by Covid-19, when she saw the question about further contact with the government, she had “this feeling that you cannot do otherwise, I have to be vaccinated… This was not a free choice and that’s why I was so angry.”<a href="#_ftn134" name="_ftnref134" title>[134]</a>
The government used other channels of communication it has with citizens based on personal data they collected for other purposes to disseminate political messages related to the elections
the National Tax and Customs Authority sent a letter in the mail to citizens who applied for a tax benefit for families with children
contained political messaging aimed at undercutting the opposition
and “we are "convinced that money should not be taken from people in difficult times…Hungary is moving forward
The “Gyurcsány era” refers to Ferenc Gyurcsány, the former prime minister, who is affiliated with Democratic Coalition (DK), and previously with the socialist party (MSZP), two major opposition parties in Hungary that made up part of the opposition coalition that ran against Fidesz-KNDP in the elections. Additionally, the communication closely tracked a key Fidesz slogan, “let’s go forwards, not backwards.”<a href="#_ftn136" name="_ftnref136" title>[136]</a>
The NAIH informed Human Rights Watch that it received three complaints about the Hungarian Government having sent out a government campaign letter by post in relation to VAT refund. In two of these cases, the procedure was terminated because the complainant did not respond to requests for additional information, and in the third case, the Authority did not identify any breach of law.<a href="#_ftn137" name="_ftnref137" title>[137]</a>
two days before the elections Csaba received an email from the Chamber of Agriculture
signed by Prime Minister Orbán about the war in Ukraine
It also referred to the need to “keep our mutual achievements” and asserted that “we must follow the values that made Hungary successful in the last 12 years.” The email was sent from the same email address as other emails from the Chamber of Agriculture and sent to the same email address through which he regularly receives emails from the Chamber of Agriculture
“because that’s not what I expect from an organization like this
This is outrageous [to me]…In this country
government communications uses every possibility to reach people with its messages
[But this communication] is significant because it’s so outrageous that the government would communicate through a professional association in which membership is mandatory.”
The NAIH informed Human Rights Watch that it received two complaints about a letter sent by the Chamber of Agriculture and bearing the signature of Viktor Orbán. It closed one case because the complainant did not respond to a request for additional information. In the other case, the NAIH identified a breach of law committed by the Chamber of Agriculture and issued a warning<a href="#_ftn139" name="_ftnref139" title>[139]</a>
but did not issue guidelines to say what the controller should do to avoid future breaches
The NEC rejected a complaint about the email sent by the Chamber of Agriculture because in its opinion the communication cannot be considered a campaign tool under the 2013 Act on Election Procedure.<a href="#_ftn140" name="_ftnref140" title>[140]</a>
The repurposing of personal data collected by the government to provide public services relating to Covid vaccine registration
to disseminate the ruling party’s campaign messaging contributed to an unequal playing field with respect to the 2022 elections and undermined privacy
The unsolicited phone calls by Fidesz may be unlawful under the GDPR
The Supreme Court partially reversed the NEC’s decision on March 5, deciding that the February 24 email violated the law on the electoral procedure regarding equal opportunities and proper exercise of rights. The Supreme Court issued a procedural fee to be paid by the state and its decision noted there shall be no appeal against the order.<a href="#_ftn142" name="_ftnref142" title>[142]</a>
The NAIH also established that the government did not ask for consent to process data for the to transmit information about vaccines and the epidemic situation - which is the exact opposite of what the privacy notice stated
the persons concerned consented to further contact on the vaccine registration page
so the data management does not have a specific purpose
People that Human Rights Watch interviewed did not believe that they were consenting to general government communications when they registered on the vaccine website and were angered by the use of the vaccine registration data for political and electoral campaigning
including that it was unrealistic that the organizers of the ‘invalid vote’ campaign could reach the same people that were on the vaccine registration newsletter (approximately 6.5 million voters)
"I was really, really mad,” said Borbála F. “I don't care about propaganda, I receive information from many sources. I was really mad because hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of voters received this letter, and they don't have other sources of information. They think, the prime minister is sending them the letter and they believe what it says.”<a href="#_ftn153" name="_ftnref153" title>[153]</a>
“I was surprised at getting emails from the government. I’d never received political messages from the government. It really pissed me off. I felt they were abusing my privacy,” said “Dave”.<a href="#_ftn154" name="_ftnref154" title>[154]</a>
“What's so frustrating about this, it seems to be such clear violations. Nothing will come of [complaints to the data protection authority] because the system is skewed,” said ‘Ágnes Kovács’. “I’m pretty familiar with limitations [of] DPAs investigations into the central [ruling] party. It’s not the first misuse of personal data. Don't have much faith it will be remedied by data protection measures”.<a href="#_ftn155" name="_ftnref155" title>[155]</a>
the government failed to confine the scope of their letter to the limits that they had set for themselves in sending out campaign related messages
Likewise, the Chamber of Agriculture may only process the data of chamber members for the purpose specified by law, may not transmit it, and may not use it to convey government messages to members.<a href="#_ftn157" name="_ftnref157" title>[157]</a>
the digitization of public services in Hungary appears to be a source of data for Fidesz’s political campaigning
especially not for campaign or mobilization purposes
phone numbers cannot be obtained legally from any register for campaign purposes unless voters have given valid consent
Telephone campaigning is likely to be unlawful if the voter has not given express consent for their data to be used for this purpose under Hungarian law
Digital campaigning was also a key feature of the opposition’s campaign strategy
United for Hungary (Egységben Magyarországért)
the six parties that made up the united opposition
decided to pool their supporters’ data to increase their ability to reach and mobilize voters
Several experts told Human Rights Watch that the opposition has aimed to build a database on voters’ preferences, similar to Fidesz’s Kubatov list, but that doing so has been impossible because of the asymmetry in resources between opposition parties and the ruling party. <a href="#_ftn165" name="_ftnref165" title>[165]</a> Furthermore
the opposition parties did not have access to citizens’ data collected for the purposes of providing public services to disseminate campaign messages
they relied on traditional data collection methods (such as in-person and online petitions and signature gathering)
the opposition’s data-driven campaigning efforts were dwarfed by those of Fidesz
opposition parties are under scrutiny from the NAIH to respect data protection regulations
and one party revealed that it developed a scoring system for voters based on the intensity of their supporters’ activity
Ahead of the pre-election period, the six opposition parties put in place an agreement to create a common database to share the data of supporters collected by their respective signature gathering efforts.<a href="#_ftn168" name="_ftnref168" title>[168]</a> Voters who indicated their support for the opposition in the pre-election needed to provide their ID number and signature
They were also invited to provide their contact details (phone number and/or email addresses)
voters consented to being contacted by the joint opposition
It was not compulsory to provide this information
they were automatically added to the joint contact list of the united opposition
The joint database had multiple purposes, including to mobilize voters to support the opposition on election day, to solicit volunteers to support campaign activities, and to mobilize supporters of one opposition party to vote for a candidate from another opposition party in a particular constituency/district where the joint opposition was running a candidate.<a href="#_ftn171" name="_ftnref171" title>[171]</a> According to MSZP
the joint database was its most trusted and up-to-date database in the campaign
Under the agreement, opposition parties said data collected for this election were channeled into a database that was separate from, and not merged with, the individual databases that respective parties held.<a href="#_ftn172" name="_ftnref172" title>[172]</a> During the campaign this database was used to send out e-mail messages, make automatic telephone calls, and text messages to the people who had shared their contact information.<a href="#_ftn173" name="_ftnref173" title>[173]</a>
around 800,000 people participated in the pre-election signature campaign
with around one third sharing their contact information (mobile numbers or e-mail addresses)
United for Hungary worked with Datadat to support its campaign efforts in the April 2022 elections
Human Rights Watch learned that Datadat stored and managed the joint database as data processors and operated a tech stack that allowed United for Hungary to collect further data via landing pages (forms) into the database with digitally documented consent for each individual
as an emailer and an action page (form) platform
Datadat reached an agreement with the six parties after having presented them with its tech stack
It then formalized the agreement into a contract with the alliance represented by one of the participating parties which was named as the member dealing with IT matters
Human Rights Watch was not able to independently verify or corroborate this
According to opposition parties that Human Rights Watch spoke with Datadat also contracted with individual opposition parties and candidates to optimize their advertisements to voters on social media.<a href="#_ftn175" name="_ftnref175" title>[175]</a> Some candidates also signed up for Datadat’s Facebook automated chatbot to engage directly with voters.<a href="#_ftn176" name="_ftnref176" title>[176]</a>
She said "Yes" at the time but doesn't know how they got her phone number in the first place
An MMM representative told Human Rights Watch that almost 90 percent of the complaints they received from data subjects were about phone calls, not emails.<a href="#_ftn183" name="_ftnref183" title>[183]</a> If people unsubscribed from the emails
Individuals reported that unsubscribing from telephone lists was burdensome
requiring a search for contact information
MMM also said that voters complained of receiving several phone calls
three or four times a day from candidates they had never heard of
or candidates who were not even their local candidate
Some parties told Human Rights Watch that they received several emails or phone calls each day from people who complained about being contacted or requesting to be unsubscribed or have their data deleted.<a href="#_ftn184" name="_ftnref184" title>[184]</a> These irregularities raise limitations of informed consent in practice
as well as the need to make the process for unsubscribing or opting out easier and faster
United for Hungary clearly considered data-driven campaigning a core part of their electoral efforts
however it was not always transparent with how voters’ personal data was used in the campaign
some members of United for Hungary told Human Rights Watch that United for Hungary as a whole had a contract with Datadat to manage aspects of its data-driven campaign efforts
nor any of the six opposition parties mention Datadat as a data processor in their privacy policies
Both Datadat and parties that Human Rights Watch spoke with described the role of Datadat as that of a data processor and could not explain why the company was not listed in their privacy policies
except to say that the relationship was temporary
MMM told Human Rights Watch it acted as a processor for the database, since MMM activists “only collected voter personal data” and did not contribute any.<a href="#_ftn187" name="_ftnref187" title>[187]</a> MMM is not listed as a data processor in United for Hungary’s privacy policy
parties and campaigns can only legally use voters’ data for automated phone calls if voters specifically provided their data for campaign purposes
United for Hungary does not list SzondaPhone as a data processor
nor do any of the six parties except for DK
If United for Hungary contracted SzondaPhone to send out campaign messages
the company should be listed as a data processor
SzondaPhone did not respond to Human Rights Watch's request for comment at time of publication
The importance of data-driven and digital campaigning for opposition parties was evident
in no small part due to the extent to which Fidesz dominates traditional media and advertising industries and its access to vast resources
But it also provides new potential for rights abuses
including privacy violations and discriminatory profiling of voters
While opposition parties are investing in digital campaigning
they are not sufficiently transparent in their use of voters’ data
Members of the United for Hungary opposition demonstrated that they took the processing of the personal data of voters seriously
in practice when acting jointly there appeared to be gaps in their efforts to effectively inform voters how their data was being used
there is no evidence that its handling of data created unfairness in election process
None of the parties Human Rights Watch interviewed currently carry out privacy or data protection impact assessments for their digital campaign strategies as a whole or before contracting an external firm
Three opposition parties did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s request for an interview or request for comment about their efforts to protect voters’ data in the elections
Only two opposition parties responded to Human Rights Watch’s follow-up questions and request for comment
none told Human Rights Watch that those were as significant platforms for campaigning as Facebook
coupled with algorithmic processing and big data analysis
enable Facebook to infer political opinions and other characteristics
which can be used for political persuasion
There are two ways in which targeted political advertising on Facebook adds an additional element of opacity to campaigning
it is unclear to Facebook users and to researchers why a user receives a Facebook ad or how targeting works
some of the targeting techniques offered by the platform are inherently opaque
Facebook introduced a publicly accessible advertising library (Ad Library) in May 2018
At time of writing the library documents all active advertisements
elections or politics” advertisements on Facebook and Instagram
In the absence of campaign finance laws in Hungary that require political campaigns to report their online spending
the Ad Library increased transparency about political online ads spending during the 2022 elections
They also don’t offer a complete explanation
A voter may suspect that an advertiser relied on sensitive personal data
such as their sexual orientation or political beliefs to target an advertisement to them
The opacity of certain ad targeting and delivery techniques provided by Facebook also risk targeting people (directly or indirectly) based on their political opinions (provided or inferred), further violating their right to privacy and undermining the democratic process.<a href="#_ftn206" name="_ftnref206" title>[206]</a>
becomes so when combined with other data; for instance when it results in an inference (correct or incorrect) that a person is likely to vote for a certain party after visiting a page preaching liberal opinions
There are several ways in which ads on Facebook can be targeted
In addition to traditional targeting parameters
Facebook provides advertisers with targeting tools
are designed to refine ad targeting and reach a more specific audience
Facebook’s “custom” audience tool allows advertisers who have their own sources of data, such as customer lists, tracking data from their websites or apps, newsletter subscribers, and lists of supporters, to upload them to Facebook.<a href="#_ftn212" name="_ftnref212" title>[212]</a> Facebook then matches this uploaded information (e.g
emails and phone numbers) with its own data about users without revealing the list of individual profiles to advertisers
political parties) to retarget them with political ads on Facebook
or how exactly the “lookalike” algorithm works
if a political party uploads a list of people whose common characteristic is that they share neo-fascist beliefs or support LGBTQI+ rights
it is possible that Facebook will find an audience for the ad that it has determined to be neo-fascist or support LGBTQI+ rights
Human Rights Watch wrote to Meta in October 2022 with questions regarding its ad targeting techniques
including whether Meta draws inferences from people’s sensitive data
and what due diligence it conducted prior to the 2022 Hungarian elections to assess the risk that its platforms could be used to undermine democratic processes
Websites include code from third-party services for a range of reasons, including tracking crash reports, measuring user engagement through analytics, connecting to social networks, and generating revenue by monetizing user data and display targeted ads.<a href="#_ftn225" name="_ftnref225" title>[225]</a> Third parties whose code is embedded in websites receive data about users that can be linked and combined to provide incredibly detailed insights into people’s lives
This sharing of user data is highly problematic from a privacy perspective
European data protection and privacy laws require that websites obtain user consent before placing third-party trackers, subject to limited exemptions. For consent to be valid it has to be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, by way of a clear affirmative action. If special category data is processed (for instance, data concerning political opinion), the consent also needs to be explicit.<a href="#_ftn226" name="_ftnref226" title>[226]</a>
Human Rights Watch selected for examination websites that are associated with the main political parties and campaigns in Hungary
as well as the election-specific website run by United for Hungary
Human Rights Watch found that all members of the united opposition and the KDNP, which is part of the ruling coalition with Fidesz, had embedded Facebook Pixel on their websites, including campaign-related pages. Human Rights Watch detected data being sent to third parties from the websites of all parties covered in this report, including Fidesz, through the use of third-party trackers, including known AdTech companies.<a href="#_ftn233" name="_ftnref233" title>[233]</a>
Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides:
Political parties are entitled to a level playing field in order to compete fairly
As the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has observed:
The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression has explained:
Hungary holds national elections every four years. Hungary’s electoral legal framework consists primarily of the 2011 Fundamental Law (Constitution),<a href="#_ftn241" name="_ftnref241" title>[241]</a> the 2011 Act on the Elections of Members of Parliament, the 2013 Act on Election Procedure,<a href="#_ftn242" name="_ftnref242" title>[242]</a> and the 2013 Act on the Transparency of Campaign Costs
Legislation is supplemented by decrees issued by the Minister of Justice and non-binding guidelines to election commissions issued by the National Election Commission
According to the European Data Protection Board
an independent body whose mandate is to ensure that the GDPR is consistently applied in the EU countries
compliance with data protection rules in the context of electoral activities and political campaigns
This report was researched and written by Deborah Brown
senior technology and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch
This report was edited by Frederike Kaltheuner
technology and human rights director at Human Rights Watch
senior Europe and Central Asia researcher provided research support and contributed to editing of the report
Expert reviews were provided by: Fred Abrahams
special advisor on health and human rights; Philippe Dam
researcher and advocate in the Children’s Rights Division; and Benjamin Ward
deputy director for Europe and Central Asia
Technical analysis of political parties’ websites was conducted by Gabi Ivens
head of open source research at Human Rights Watch
the real-time website privacy inspector built by Surya Mattu
former Senior Data Engineer and Investigative Data Journalist of The Markup
produced the micro video accompanying the report
provided support for the selection and layout of the photographs in the report
Illustration was provided by Brian Stauffer
The report was prepared for publication by Fitzroy Hepkins
Editorial and production assistance was provided by Kerin Shilla
associate in the Tech and Human Rights Division; Jack Spehn
associate in the Economic Justice and Rights Division; and Klara Funke
associate in Europe and Central Asia Division
Human Rights Watch also benefited greatly from expert input from and collaboration with by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
in particular the Privacy Project and Political Freedoms Project
which provided expert review of the research and connected Human Rights Watch with their clients whose testimonies enriched the research
We are grateful to human rights organizations and individual activists and journalists who provided input into and support for this research and analysis
External legal review was provided by Elizabeth Wang
Human Rights Watch would like to thank the Hungarian researchers
and translators who contributed to this report by granting interviews and providing Human Rights Watch with information
They cannot be named to protect their safety
but their work and support has been invaluable
<a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1" title>[1]</a> The Markup
“Blacklight,” https://themarkup.org/blacklight (accessed September 9
<a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2" title>[2]</a> Democratic Coalition (Demokratikus Koalíció or DK)
and Dialogue for Hugnary (Párbeszéd Magyarországért)
The opposition candidate for Prime Minister Péter Márki-Zay came from a seventh entity
<a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3" title>[3]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
“Hungary: Parliamentary Elections and Referendum: ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report”
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/6/523568.pdf (accessed November 21
2022); International Foundation for Electoral Systems
“Election FAQs: Hungary Parliamentary Elections”
https://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files/migrate/hungary_2022_parliamentary_elections_faq.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4" title>[4]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" name="_ftn5" title>[5]</a> Mattu
“How We Built a Real-time Privacy Inspector”
https://themarkup.org/blacklight/2020/09/22/how-we-built-a-real-time-privacy-inspector (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" name="_ftn6" title>[6]</a> “Hungary: Ruling Party’s Lock On Power Threatens EU Action Needed to Address Damage to Rule of Law Following Election Result,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/05/hungary-ruling-partys-lock-power-threatens-eu
<a href="#_ftnref7" id="_ftn7" name="_ftn7" title>[7]</a> OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) promotes democratic elections
including by deploying election observation missions to OSCE member states
<a href="#_ftnref8" id="_ftn8" name="_ftn8" title>[8]</a> OSCE
“Hungary: Parliamentary Elections and Referendum: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.” 3 April 2022
Note: The OSCE end of mission statement and final report included reports of misuse of personal data in the collection of signatures for candidates
unclear data collection practices by smaller parties
and how relevant institutions responded to complaints of misuse of data by the ruling party and united opposition
these issues were covered mostly in footnotes and its reporting did not examine
how the misuse of data in the campaign period impacted the right to privacy and contributed to an unfair playing field
<a href="#_ftnref9" id="_ftn9" name="_ftn9" title>[9]</a> “Hungary: Planned election law change could hamper opposition,” AP press release
https://apnews.com/article/budapest-viktor-orban-elections-hungary-voting-4b220d91f290635544d1032b0fe14eca (accessed November 21
Amendments to the electoral law in 2020 increased the minimum number of single-mandate districts parties or coalitions need to register a national party to nominate candidates for the elections from at least 27 single-mandate districts
altogether across nine (out of the 19) counties as well as in the capital to 50 single-mandate districts
while the minimum conditions of their cross-country distribution would remain unchanged
See also: “Concerns over Hungary’s pending electoral code amendment,” European Platform for Democratic Elections press release
https://www.epde.org/en/news/details/concerns-over-hungarys-pending-electoral-code-amendment.html (accessed November 21
“Personal Data: Political Persuasion Inside the Influence Industry
https://cdn.ttc.io/s/tacticaltech.org/methods_guidebook_A4_spread_web_Ed2.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref11" id="_ftn11" name="_ftn11" title>[11]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref12" id="_ftn12" name="_ftn12" title>[12]</a> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
17 https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights (accessed November 21
8 https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf (accessed November 21
2022); Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
Article 7 https://fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/article/7-respect-private-and-family-life (accessed November 21
The right to privacy is also reaffirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref13" id="_ftn13" name="_ftn13" title>[13]</a> “The Fundamental Law of Hungary”
Article 6 of the Hungarian Fundamental law recognizes the right to privacy (paragraph 1)
https://web.archive.org/web/20120505113747/http:/www.kormany.hu/download/2/ab/30000/Alap_angol.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref14" id="_ftn14" name="_ftn14" title>[14]</a> “The EU General Data Protection Regulation Questions and Answers
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/06/eu-general-data-protection-regulation
<a href="#_ftnref15" id="_ftn15" name="_ftn15" title>[15]</a> European Union
“Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data
and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (Text with EEA relevance),” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02016R0679-20160504&amp;qid=1532348683434 (accessed November 21
2022); “The EU General Data Protection Regulation Questions and Answers,” Human Rights Watch news release
<a href="#_ftnref16" id="_ftn16" name="_ftn16" title>[16]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref17" id="_ftn17" name="_ftn17" title>[17]</a> “Act CXII of 2011 on the Right of Informational Self-Determination and on Freedom of Information,” https://naih.hu/files/Privacy_Act-CXII-of-2011_EN_201310.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref18" id="_ftn18" name="_ftn18" title>[18]</a> Council of Europe
“Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data,” January 28
https://rm.coe.int/1680078b37 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref19" id="_ftn19" name="_ftn19" title>[19]</a> “Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data”
https://rm.coe.int/convention-108-convention-for-the-protection-of-individuals-with-regar/16808b36f1 (accessed November 21
The protocol goes into force when all parties to Convention 108 have ratified it or in October 2023 if 38 states have ratified it at that point
<a href="#_ftnref20" id="_ftn20" name="_ftn20" title>[20]</a> “Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data,” 19 November 2021
https://rm.coe.int/t-pd-bur-2021-3rev4-fin-draft-guidelines-political-campaigns/1680a4a36d (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref21" id="_ftn21" name="_ftn21" title>[21]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref22" id="_ftn22" name="_ftn22" title>[22]</a> See Article 9(1) of GDPR
<a href="#_ftnref23" id="_ftn23" name="_ftn23" title>[23]</a> Section 149 of the Act XXXVI of 2013 on Election Procedure stipulates that “Election campaign materials may be delivered to voters by direct distribution
with the proviso that the use of other data of the voter
shall require explicit consent.” See: https://www.valasztas.hu/documents/538536/548702/Act+XXXVI+of+2013+on+Electoral+Procedure.pdf/2e82a257-b592-4819-923f-eac4a18cfec6 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref24" id="_ftn24" name="_ftn24" title>[24]</a> Section 89 of the Act XXXVI of 2013 on Election Procedure stipulates that “(1) A voter shall be entitled to prohibit election bodies from releasing recorded data relating to the voter in accordance with section 153
the voter may also make a statement under the Act on the registration of personal data and address of citizens to limit or prohibit data provision concerning his data.” See: https://www.valasztas.hu/documents/538536/548702/Act+XXXVI+of+2013+on+Electoral+Procedure.pdf/2e82a257-b592-4819-923f-eac4a18cfec6 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref25" id="_ftn25" name="_ftn25" title>[25]</a> Section 13/A(4) E-Commerce Act: “Act CVIII of 2001 on Electronic Commerce and on Information Society Services“
See: https://english.nmhh.hu/document/213838/act_cviii_of_2001.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref26" id="_ftn26" name="_ftn26" title>[26]</a> Section 162 of the Electronic Communications Act: Use of Data for Direct Marketing and for Information: “Act CVIII of 2001 on Electronic Commerce and on Information Society Services”
See: https://www.ott-regulation.com/download/act_c_of_2003.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref27" id="_ftn27" name="_ftn27" title>[27]</a> Társaság a Szabadságjogokért,”„Egyenlők és egyenlőbbek?” A TASZ Választási Jogi Programjának jelentése a 2019
évi európai parlamenti és önkormányzati választásokról”
https://tasz.hu/a/files/Egyenlok-es-egyenlobbek_-a-tasz_2019-es_valasztasi_jelentese.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref28" id="_ftn28" name="_ftn28" title>[28]</a>Társaság a Szabadságjogokért
hogy jogszerűen kezelte a TASZ ügyfelének adatait”
https://tasz.hu/cikkek/nem-tudta-bizonyitani-a-fidesz-hogy-jogszeruen-kezelte-a-tasz-ugyfelenek-adatait (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref29" id="_ftn29" name="_ftn29" title>[29]</a> NAIH
“Levél Kubatov Gábor alelnöknek és Németh Szilárd alelnöknek Fidesz-Magyar Polgári Szövetség Budapest”
https://www.naih.hu/adatvedelmi-allasfoglalasok?download=347:part-adatkezelesenek-vizsgalata (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref30" id="_ftn30" name="_ftn30" title>[30]</a> Zoltán
Haszán ”A Kubatov-listán bizonytalanként szereplőket zaklatja az utolsó pilanatban a Fidesz aktivista gárdája”
https://444.hu/2018/04/06/a-kubatov-listan-bizonytalankent-szereploket-zaklatja-az-utolso-pilanatban-a-fidesz-aktivista-gardaja (accessed November 21
2022); Human Rights Watch interview with Adam Remport
Privacy Project Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
2021; Human Rights Watch interview with Tamas Bodoky
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Sandor Lederer
2021; Human Rights Watch interview with Peter Erdelyi
Human Rights Watch interview with Szabolc Panyi
<a href="#_ftnref31" id="_ftn31" name="_ftn31" title>[31]</a> NAIH
“Levél Kubatov Gábor alelnöknek és Németh Szilárd alelnöknek Fidesz-Magyar Polgári Szövetség Budapest“
<a href="#_ftnref32" id="_ftn32" name="_ftn32" title>[32]</a> Origo
“Így működnek a Kubatov-listák a gyakorlatban”
https://www.origo.hu/itthon/20121216-ujabb-bizonyitek-a-fidesz-adatbazisepitesere.html (accessed November 21
“A Kubatov-listán bizonytalanként szereplőket zaklatja az utolsó pilanatban a Fidesz aktivista gárdája“
<a href="#_ftnref33" id="_ftn33" name="_ftn33" title>[33]</a> “Fidesz Top Secret - A Kubatov-lista a gyakorlatban,” video clib
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbLn3hdQn9I (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref34" id="_ftn34" name="_ftn34" title>[34]</a> “Georg Spöttlével telefonálunk,” video clip
https://www.facebook.com/bartokcsabaszeged/videos/1676139075810412/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref35" id="_ftn35" name="_ftn35" title>[35]</a> Erdelyip
”Amerikában regisztrált címről működik az online "Kubatov-lista"
https://444.hu/2019/09/16/kulfoldi-szerverrol-mukodhet-a-kubatov-lista (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref36" id="_ftn36" name="_ftn36" title>[36]</a> Archived link to login screen of online version of the Kubatov list from August 2018 as reported by 444.hu https://web.archive.org/web/20180807055246/https:/fdszkt.com/KTR/program/dashboard.xhtml (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref37" id="_ftn37" name="_ftn37" title>[37]</a> Archived link to login screen of online version of the Kubatov list from November 2018 as reported by 444.hu https://web.archive.org/web/20181103165754/https://fdszkt.com/KTR/program/dashboard.xhtml (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref38" id="_ftn38" name="_ftn38" title>[38]</a> Balázs
“Adatvédelmi vizsgálat indult a Kubatov-lista miatt“
https://index.hu/belfold/2020/01/06/hadhazy_akos_adatvedelmi_hatosag_vizsgalat_kubatov_lista_erd_kaposvar_valasztas/?token=0c8fe26d51d130e92c6ee89c8ff77727 (accessed November 21
The central electoral register contains the following: a) name and birth name of the voter
c) address of the domicile and place of residence of the voter
also the type and number of the official verification card for verifying identity if he does not have a personal identifier
g) reference to the election and the constituency in which the voter has the right to vote and of the election in which he can be voted for
h) reference to the settlement and single-member constituency in which the voter was recorded in the polling district electoral register on the day of the last election of local government representatives and mayors
https://www.valasztas.hu/documents/538536/548702/Act+XXXVI+of+2013+on+Electoral+Procedure.pdf/2e82a257-b592-4819-923f-eac4a18cfec6 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref39" id="_ftn39" name="_ftn39" title>[39]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Tamas Bodoky
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Szabolc Panyi
<a href="#_ftnref40" id="_ftn40" name="_ftn40" title>[40]</a> Zoltán
Haszán “A Kubatov-listán bizonytalanként szereplőket zaklatja az utolsó pilanatban a Fidesz aktivistagárdája”
“Inside Orbán’s Fidesz party preparing for Hungary’s parliamentary election,” March 11
https://www.direkt36.hu/en/orban-asztalan-sorakozo-szines-cetlik-mutatjak-hogyan-ujitotta-meg-a-kampanyat-a-fidesz/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref41" id="_ftn41" name="_ftn41" title>[41]</a> Balázs
“Adatvédelmi vizsgálat indult a Kubatov-lista miatt,” January 6
“Kubatov-listát fotóztak – állítja a kaposvári ellenzék“
https://24.hu/belfold/2019/10/12/kubatov-lista-kaposvar/ (accessed November 21
”Újabb Kubatov-lista: Érden is lefotózták a Fidesz választói adatpapírjait admin,” October 13
https://24.hu/belfold/2019/10/13/ujabb-kubatov-lista-erden-is-lefotoztak-a-fidesz-valasztoi-adatpapirjait/ (accessed November 21
“A Kubatov-listán bizonytalanként szereplőket zaklatja az utolsó pilanatban a Fidesz aktivistagárdája”
https://444.hu/2018/04/06/a-kubatov-listan-bizonytalankent-szereploket-zaklatja-az-utolso-pilanatban-a-fidesz-aktivista-gardaja (accessed November 2022)
<a href="#_ftnref42" id="_ftn42" name="_ftn42" title>[42]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Adam Remport
<a href="#_ftnref43" id="_ftn43" name="_ftn43" title>[43]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Tamas Bodoky
“Leaked database indicates that Fidesz is preparing a huge mobilisation in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county,” March 17
https://english.atlatszo.hu/2022/03/17/a-leaked-database-indicates-that-fidesz-is-preparing-a-huge-mobilisation-in-borsod-abauj-zemplen-county/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref44" id="_ftn44" name="_ftn44" title>[44]</a> Balázs
“Adatvédelmi vizsgálat indult a Kubatov-lista miatt”
<a href="#_ftnref45" id="_ftn45" name="_ftn45" title>[45]</a> Human Rights Watch exchange with Adam Remport
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union’s Privacy Project and Dániel Döbrentey Coordinator for the Voting Rights Program
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union’s Political Freedoms Project
<a href="#_ftnref46" id="_ftn46" name="_ftn46" title>[46]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
“Follow-up Information on Hungary From the Hungarian Helsinki Committee After the Consideration of Hungary’s sixth Periodic Report,” March 22
https://old.helsinki.hu/wp-content/uploads/HHC_follow-up_Hungary_20180322.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref47" id="_ftn47" name="_ftn47" title>[47]</a> See
“Here's the latest national consultation questionnaire,” July 1
https://abouthungary.hu/blog/here-s-the-latest-national-consultation-questionnaire (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref48" id="_ftn48" name="_ftn48" title>[48]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Szabolc Panyi
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Róbert László
2021; Human Rights Watch interview with Sandor Lederer
<a href="#_ftnref49" id="_ftn49" name="_ftn49" title>[49]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Tamas Bodoky
<a href="#_ftnref50" id="_ftn50" name="_ftn50" title>[50]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
<a href="#_ftnref51" id="_ftn51" name="_ftn51" title>[51]</a> HVG.HU
“Jóri szerint is aggályos a szociális konzultációs kérdőív”
https://hvg.hu/itthon/20110607_jori_szerint_aggalyos_szocialis_konzultac (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref52" id="_ftn52" name="_ftn52" title>[52]</a> HVG.HU
https://hvg.hu/itthon/20120727_szocialis_konzultacio_kerdoivek (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref53" id="_ftn53" name="_ftn53" title>[53]</a> Balázs
https://index.hu/belfold/2020/01/06/hadhazy_akos_adatvedelmi_hatosag_vizsgalat_kubatov_lista_erd_kaposvar_valasztas/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref54" id="_ftn54" name="_ftn54" title>[54]</a> NAIH
“Levél Kubatov Gábor alelnöknek és Németh Szilárd alelnöknek Fidesz-Magyar Polgári Szövetség Budapest.” 2020
<a href="#_ftnref55" id="_ftn55" name="_ftn55" title>[55]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref56" id="_ftn56" name="_ftn56" title>[56]</a> Email from Adam Remport
Legal Officer for the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union’s Privacy Project
<a href="#_ftnref57" id="_ftn57" name="_ftn57" title>[57]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Miklos Ligeti
Head of Legal Affairs for Transparency International-Hungary
<a href="#_ftnref58" id="_ftn58" name="_ftn58" title>[58]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Viktor Szigetvari
<a href="#_ftnref59" id="_ftn59" name="_ftn59" title>[59]</a> “Former government members run data firm behind successful leftist electoral campaigns in Hungary,” Atlatszo news release
https://english.atlatszo.hu/2020/01/10/former-government-members-run-data-firm-behind-successful-leftist-electoral-campaigns-in-hungary/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref60" id="_ftn60" name="_ftn60" title>[60]</a> Datadat offers a chatbot called WinWith.Me
which lets its clients create custom Facebook Messenger Bots to engage supporters (i.e.
Facebook users who interact with their client’s page by liking a post or commenting)
“6 things to know about WinWith.Me,” March 18
https://nationbuilder.com/6_things_to_know_about_winwith_me (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref61" id="_ftn61" name="_ftn61" title>[61]</a> Attila
“NERfluenszerek versus Gyurcsánybot: politikai harc a közösségi médiában admin,” January 11
https://24.hu/belfold/2021/01/11/kozossegi-media-social-media-big-data/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref62" id="_ftn62" name="_ftn62" title>[62]</a> Human Rights Watch
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/hungary
<a href="#_ftnref63" id="_ftn63" name="_ftn63" title>[63]</a> “Hungary: Editor’s Sacking a Blow to Press Freedom End Pressure on Media; Respect
Protect Independent Journalism,” Human Rights Watch news release July 24
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/24/hungary-editors-sacking-blow-press-freedom; Civil Liberties Union for Europe
Liberties Media Freedom Report 2022 Shows Worrisome Decline in Media Freedom Across Europe,” Franziska Otto
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/media-freedom-report-2022/44110 (accessed November 21
2022); Center for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom
“Assessing certain recent developments in the Hungarian media market through the prism of the Media Pluralism Monitor,” Elda Brogi
https://cmpf.eui.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Report_KESMA_Hungary_A2.pdf (accessed November 21
2022); “Memorandum to the European Union on Media Freedom in Hungary,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/16/memorandum-european-union-media-freedom-hungary; UN General Assembly
“Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F50%2F29%2FAdd.1&amp;Language=E&amp;DeviceType=Desktop&amp;LangRequested=False (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref64" id="_ftn64" name="_ftn64" title>[64]</a> “Hungary: Smear Campaign Targets Critical Voices Twisted
Out-of-Context Statements Released Ahead of Elections,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/04/hungary-smear-campaign-targets-critical-voices
<a href="#_ftnref65" id="_ftn65" name="_ftn65" title>[65]</a> “Hungary Renews Attacks on Independent Radio Station EU Should Act on Latest Blow to Press Freedom”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/15/hungary-renews-attacks-independent-radio-station
<a href="#_ftnref66" id="_ftn66" name="_ftn66" title>[66]</a> “Hungary: Intensified Attack on LGBT People,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/18/hungary-intensified-attack-lgbt-people; “LGBT Rights Under Renewed Pressure in Hungary Children Harmed in the Name of Protection,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/15/lgbt-rights-under-renewed-pressure-hungary
<a href="#_ftnref67" id="_ftn67" name="_ftn67" title>[67]</a> “Hungary’s Authoritarian Leader is No Gift to US conservatives,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/04/hungarys-authoritarian-leader-no-gift-us-conservatives; “Hungary: Ruling Party’s Lock On Power Threatens EU Action Needed to Address Damage to Rule of Law Following Election Result,” Human Rights Watch news release August 5
<a href="#_ftnref68" id="_ftn68" name="_ftn68" title>[68]</a> “European Parliament Ups Pressure for Action on Hungary Attacks on Democratic Values Should Carry Consequences,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/15/european-parliament-ups-pressure-action-hungary
<a href="#_ftnref69" id="_ftn69" name="_ftn69" title>[69]</a> “In a first
European Union moves to cut Hungary funding over damaging democracy,” Reuters news release
https://www.reuters.com/world/first-eu-seen-moving-cut-money-hungary-over-damaging-democracy-2022-09-18/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref70" id="_ftn70" name="_ftn70" title>[70]</a> “Hungary’s Orban Uses Pandemic to Seize Unlimited Power Emergency Draft Law A Clear Threat to Democratic Freedoms,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/23/hungarys-orban-uses-pandemic-seize-unlimited-power
<a href="#_ftnref71" id="_ftn71" name="_ftn71" title>[71]</a> “Hungary’s New 'State of Danger' Orban Instrumentalizes Ukraine War To Further Consolidate Power”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/08/hungarys-new-state-danger
<a href="#_ftnref72" id="_ftn72" name="_ftn72" title>[72]</a> In 2012
the European Commission launched accelerated infringement proceedings against Hungary because of the lack of independence of the NAIH when it replaced the Data Protection Commissioner's Office
declared this to be in violation of EU law
“European Commission launches accelerated infringement proceedings against Hungary,” January 17
https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/articles/governance/2012-01-18-hungary_en.htm (accessed November 21
2022); The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
“The Hungarian Data Protection Authority Was Conceived in Sin,” April 16
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/hungarian-data-protection-authority-was-conceived-in-sin/464 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref73" id="_ftn73" name="_ftn73" title>[73]</a> András Pethő and Szabolcs Panyi
“Hungarian journalists and critics of Orbán were targeted with Pegasus
https://www.direkt36.hu/en/leleplezodott-egy-durva-izraeli-kemfegyver-az-orban-kormany-kritikusait-es-magyar-ujsagirokat-is-celba-vettek-vele/ (accessed November 21
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/hungary; “Hungary: The government must provide a meaningful response to the Pegasus scandal,” Amnesty International press release
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/hungary-the-government-must-provide-a-meaningful-response-to-the-pegasus-scandal/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref74" id="_ftn74" name="_ftn74" title>[74]</a> “Data Authority Finds No Problem with Use of Pegasus Spyware in Hungary,” Hungary Today news release
https://hungarytoday.hu/pegasus-hungary-spyware-data-authority-naih-peterfalvi/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref75" id="_ftn75" name="_ftn75" title>[75]</a> Dániel Szalay
“Vizsgálatot indított a Pegasus kémszoftverrel megfigyelt Panyi Szabolcs újságíró ellen az adatvédelmi hatóság – 4 hónap kellett
https://media1.hu/2022/07/20/vizsgalatot-inditott-a-pegasus-kemszoftverrel-megfigyelt-panyi-szabolcs-ujsagiro-ellen-az-adatvedelmi-hatosag-4-honap-kellett-hogy-a-naih-beismerje-alaptalanul/ (accessed November 21
2022); https://twitter.com/panyiszabolcs/status/1549713064328630272 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref76" id="_ftn76" name="_ftn76" title>[76]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Sandor Lederer
<a href="#_ftnref77" id="_ftn77" name="_ftn77" title>[77]</a> NAIH
“A Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság ajánlása a politikai pártok és szervezetek adatkezelésével kapcsolatos egyes adatvédelmi követelményekről,” 2021
 https://www.naih.hu/adatvedelmi-ajanlasok?download=332:a-nemzeti-adatvedelmi-es-informacioszabadsag-hatosag-ajanlasa-a-politikai-partok-es-szervezetek-adatkezelesevel-kapcsolatos-egyes-adatvedelmi-kovetelmenyekrol (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref78" id="_ftn78" name="_ftn78" title>[78]</a> See: Magyar Közlöny 179/2020 (V
4.) https://magyarkozlony.hu/dokumentumok/008772a9660e8ff51e7dd1f3d39ec056853ab26c/megtekintes (accessed November 21
“Information Note on Certain Rule of Law Developments in Hungary Between May-July 2020,” August 13
https://helsinki.hu/wp-content/uploads/HHC_Rule_of_Law_update_May-July2020.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref79" id="_ftn79" name="_ftn79" title>[79]</a> Specifically
Decree 179/2020 V.4 suspended GDPR Articles 15-22 in relation to the processing of data conducted by both public and private entities for the purpose of the fight against the COVID-19 crisis and postponed the start date of time limits for procedures under Articles 77-79 for the exercise of remedy rights
including the right to lodge a complaint and the right to an effective judicial remedy; International Commission of Jurists
“A Facade of Legality: COVID-19 and the Exploitation of Emergency Powers in Hungary,” February 2022
https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Hungary-A-Facade-of-Legality-legal-briefing-2022-ENG.pdf (accessed November 21
https://tasz.hu/a/files/Joint_letter_to_EDPB_-_Hungary_GDPR_Decree_-_Access_Now__Liberties__HCLU.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref80" id="_ftn80" name="_ftn80" title>[80]</a> Stolton
“EU data watchdog ‘very worried’ by Hungary’s GDPR suspension,” EURACTIV
https://www.euractiv.com/section/data-protection/news/eu-data-watchdog-very-worried-by-hungarys-gdpr-suspension/ (accessed November 21
“Statement on restrictions on data subject rights in connection to the state of emergency in Member State,” Adopted on June 2
https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/default/files/files/file1/edpb_statement_art_23gdpr_20200602_en.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref81" id="_ftn81" name="_ftn81" title>[81]</a> Civil Liberties Union for Europe
<a href="#_ftnref82" id="_ftn82" name="_ftn82" title>[82]</a> Blackstone Chambers
“Legal Opinion on Hungarian Covid-19 legislation,” June 8
https://web.archive.org/web/20220308122052/https://www.blackstonechambers.com/news/legal-opinion-hungarian-covid-19-legislation/ (accessed November 21
“HU COVID-19 Emergency Decrees Tracker (Hungarian Helsinki Committee compilation),” https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1t27aU5QYW0pj8PfaNxWuajyPhrwpbO6TxunRjPnrOhM/edit#gid=0 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref84" id="_ftn84" name="_ftn84" title>[84]</a> International Commission of Jurists
<a href="#_ftnref85" id="_ftn85" name="_ftn85" title>[85]</a> European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission)
“Opinion on Act CXII of 2011 on Informational Self-Determination and Freedom of Information of Hungary (Opinion 672 / 2012),” October 18
2012 https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2012)023-e (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref86" id="_ftn86" name="_ftn86" title>[86]</a> “Hungary: Editor’s Sacking a Blow to Press Freedom End Pressure on Media; Respect
Protect Independent Journalism,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/24/hungary-editors-sacking-blow-press-freedom
<a href="#_ftnref87" id="_ftn87" name="_ftn87" title>[87]</a> “Hungary: Media Law Endangers Press Freedom Problematic Legislation Part of Wider Concern About Country’s Rights Record,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/01/07/hungary-media-law-endangers-press-freedom
<a href="#_ftnref88" id="_ftn88" name="_ftn88" title>[88]</a> “Hungary: Editor’s Sacking a Blow to Press Freedom End Pressure on Media; Respect
<a href="#_ftnref89" id="_ftn89" name="_ftn89" title>[89]</a> “Hungary’s Insidious Media Clampdown,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/13/hungarys-insidious-media-clampdown; “2-Pro-government businessman buys into top Hungarian news portal's funding stream,” Reuters news release
https://www.reuters.com/article/hungary-media/update-2-pro-government-businessman-buys-into-top-hungarian-news-portals-funding-stream-idUSL8N2BO4B9 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref90" id="_ftn90" name="_ftn90" title>[90]</a> “Hungary’s Biggest Oppositional Daily Shut Down New Chapter in Government’s Long History of Contempt for Media Freedom,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/10/hungarys-biggest-oppositional-daily-shut-down
<a href="#_ftnref91" id="_ftn91" name="_ftn91" title>[91]</a> “Hungary’s Democracy Crisis Demands a European Response Insist that Orbán Reverse Course at EU Council Hearing,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/26/hungarys-democracy-crisis-demands-european-response
<a href="#_ftnref92" id="_ftn92" name="_ftn92" title>[92]</a> “Mindent beborít a Fidesz-közeli média,” Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely
https://mertek.eu/2019/04/25/mindent-beborit-a-fidesz-kozeli-media/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref93" id="_ftn93" name="_ftn93" title>[93]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
“Hungary Parliamentary Elections and Referendum,” April 3
<a href="#_ftnref94" id="_ftn94" name="_ftn94" title>[94]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref95" id="_ftn95" name="_ftn95" title>[95]</a> “Hungary’s Latest Assault on the Judiciary President Ader Should Reject Law That Sets Up New Court System,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/14/hungarys-latest-assault-judiciary; “Wrong Direction on Rights Assessing the Impact of Hungary’s New Constitution and Laws,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/05/16/wrong-direction-rights/assessing-impact-hungarys-new-constitution-and-laws
<a href="#_ftnref96" id="_ftn96" name="_ftn96" title>[96]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref97" id="_ftn97" name="_ftn97" title>[97]</a> Amnesty International
Status of the Hungarian Judiciary: Legal Changes Have to Guarantee the Independence of the Judiciary in Hungary
https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EUR2736232021ENGLISH.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref98" id="_ftn98" name="_ftn98" title>[98]</a> European Commission
“Recommendation for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on the 2019 National Reform Programme of Hungary and delivering a Council opinion on the 2019 Convergence Programme of Hungary,” https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=COM(2019)517&amp;lang=en (accessed November 21
2022); European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission)
https://www.venice.coe.int/Newsletter/NEWSLETTER_2012_02/1_HUN_EN.html (accessed November 21
“Slowly and Stealthily: Rule of Law Being Undermined in Hungary Hungarian authorities continue to silence dissent and run intimidation campaigns against individuals and organisations in almost every area of life that want to hold the government accountable,” Civil Liberties Union for Europe
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/slowly-and-stealthily-rule-of-law-being-undermined-in-hungary/17634 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref99" id="_ftn99" name="_ftn99" title>[99]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
“An Effective Anti-Corruption Framework Needs An Independent Judiciary,” September 12
https://helsinki.hu/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/anti-corruption-framework-needs-independent-judiciary.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref100" id="_ftn100" name="_ftn100" title>[100]</a> “Viktor Orbán’s grip on Hungary’s courts threatens rule of law
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/14/viktor-orban-grip-on-hungary-courts-threatens-rule-of-law-warns-judge (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref101" id="_ftn101" name="_ftn101" title>[101]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref102" id="_ftn102" name="_ftn102" title>[102]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref103" id="_ftn103" name="_ftn103" title>[103]</a> Letter from Dr
President of the National Election Commission to Human Rights Watch
<a href="#_ftnref104" id="_ftn104" name="_ftn104" title>[104]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref105" id="_ftn105" name="_ftn105" title>[105]</a> Amnesty International Hungary
“Contributions of Hungarian NGOs to the Rule of Law to the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report,” March 2021
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mSknkSXmJCN10z7qfYnY1MDPtXuotzcs/view (accessed November 21
2022); Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref106" id="_ftn106" name="_ftn106" title>[106]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Miklos Ligeti
<a href="#_ftnref107" id="_ftn107" name="_ftn107" title>[107]</a> Transparency International
Party- and Campaign Financing,” https://transparency.hu/en/kozszektor/valasztasok-part-es-kampanyfinanszirozas/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref108" id="_ftn108" name="_ftn108" title>[108]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Miklos Ligeti
<a href="#_ftnref109" id="_ftn109" name="_ftn109" title>[109]</a> Following the audit of the 2014 election contestants
the SAO identified irregularities in the financing of two parties and one alliance from the political opposition; the audit of the 2018 election contestants revealed irregularities in the financing of four parties
See: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref110" id="_ftn110" name="_ftn110" title>[110]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref111" id="_ftn111" name="_ftn111" title>[111]</a> Letter from Dr
<a href="#_ftnref112" id="_ftn112" name="_ftn112" title>[112]</a> For details
“Total Eclipse – Campaign Spending in Hungary
2015,” https://transparency.hu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Total-Eclipse-Campaign-Spending-in-Hungary-Study.pdf
36; related correspondence with the SAO in possession of Transparency International Hungary
<a href="#_ftnref113" id="_ftn113" name="_ftn113" title>[113]</a> See: TASZ,“Állásfoglalásunk az Állami Számvevőszék ellenzéki pártokat ért szankcióiról.” 2018
https://tasz.hu/cikkek/allasfoglalasunk-az-allami-szamvevoszek-ellenzeki-partokat-ert-szankcioirol (accessed November 21
hvg.hu “4 év alatt 816 millió forintot szedetett be az ellenzéki pártoktól az ÁSZ” 2019
https://hvg.hu/itthon/20190131_4_ev_alatt_816_millio_forintot_szedetett_be_az_ellenzeki_partoktol_az_ASZ (accessed November 21
“Választási kampány 2022: törvényt sérthetett a Fidesz
nyolcszoros túlerőben a kormányoldal plakátkampánya az ellenzékkel szemben”
https://transparency.hu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/kozteruleti_kampanykoltesek_2022_gyorsjelentes_marcius.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref114" id="_ftn114" name="_ftn114" title>[114]</a> Letter from Dr
HVG* and Index Spread Lies About the Campaign Accounting of Political Advertising Content Appearing on Social Media,” January 13
2022 https://www.asz.hu/hu/sajtokozlemenyek/figyelem-hazugsagokat-terjeszt-a-hvg-es-az-index-a-kozossegi-mediaban-megjeleno-politikai-hirdetes-jellegu-tartalmak-kampanyelszamolasarol (accessed November 21
“The legal environment for political advertising in the election campaign period on specific media platforms," June 2020
https://www.asz.hu/storage/files/files/elemzesek/2020/politikai_hird_20200603.pdf?download=true (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref115" id="_ftn115" name="_ftn115" title>[115]</a> András Szabó
<a href="#_ftnref116" id="_ftn116" name="_ftn116" title>[116]</a> Zoltán
Haszán “A Kubatov-listán bizonytalanként szereplőket zaklatja az utolsó pilanatban a Fidesz aktivista gárdája,” April 6
<a href="#_ftnref117" id="_ftn117" name="_ftn117" title>[117]</a> TASZ
“Három választási adatvédelmi visszaélés,” May 13
https://tasz.hu/cikkek/harom-valasztasi-adatvedelmi-visszaeles (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref118" id="_ftn118" name="_ftn118" title>[118]</a> Letter from Dr
President of the National Election Commission
2022; Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref119" id="_ftn119" name="_ftn119" title>[119]</a> Letter from Dr
President of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
<a href="#_ftnref120" id="_ftn120" name="_ftn120" title>[120]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Alex B.
<a href="#_ftnref121" id="_ftn121" name="_ftn121" title>[121]</a> Online tudakozó - Magyar Telekom Csoport
https://www.telekom.hu/lakossagi/tudakozo#/telefonszam (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref122" id="_ftn122" name="_ftn122" title>[122]</a> The email Alex B
you wrote to the Fidesz – Hungarian Citizens’ Association asking whether the Party handles the personal data you provided in your letter
I would like to inform you that after checking our register
we do not process your personal data in it
<a href="#_ftnref123" id="_ftn123" name="_ftn123" title>[123]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Csaba
<a href="#_ftnref124" id="_ftn124" name="_ftn124" title>[124]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with ‘Ágnes Kovács’
<a href="#_ftnref125" id="_ftn125" name="_ftn125" title>[125]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref126" id="_ftn126" name="_ftn126" title>[126]</a> National Election Commission
https://www.valasztas.hu/hatarozat-megjelenito/-/hatarozat/113-2022-nvb-hatarozat-dr-h-a-m-altal-benyujtott-kifogas-targyaban (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref127" id="_ftn127" name="_ftn127" title>[127]</a> Hungary’s Vaccine Registration Website
https://vakcinainfo.gov.hu/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref128" id="_ftn128" name="_ftn128" title>[128]</a> Hungary’s Vaccine Registration Website
“Privacy Notice,” https://vakcinainfo.gov.hu/privacy-notice (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref129" id="_ftn129" name="_ftn129" title>[129]</a> Hungarian Government Information Center newsletter
https://hirlevelkuldo-meres.kormany.hu/publicapi/kormany/newsletter/view/212/00 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref130" id="_ftn130" name="_ftn130" title>[130]</a> Hungarian Government Information Center newsletter 
https://hirlevelkuldo-meres.kormany.hu/publicapi/kormany/newsletter/view/305/00 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref131" id="_ftn131" name="_ftn131" title>[131]</a> Hungarian Government Information Center newsletter
https://hirlevelkuldo-meres.kormany.hu/publicapi/kormany/newsletter/view/264/00 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref132" id="_ftn132" name="_ftn132" title>[132]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Borbála F.
<a href="#_ftnref133" id="_ftn133" name="_ftn133" title>[133]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Maria G.
<a href="#_ftnref134" id="_ftn134" name="_ftn134" title>[134]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with ’Szofia’
<a href="#_ftnref135" id="_ftn135" name="_ftn135" title>[135]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with “Dave”
<a href="#_ftnref136" id="_ftn136" name="_ftn136" title>[136]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
<a href="#_ftnref137" id="_ftn137" name="_ftn137" title>[137]</a> Letter from Dr
<a href="#_ftnref138" id="_ftn138" name="_ftn138" title>[138]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Csaba
<a href="#_ftnref139" id="_ftn139" name="_ftn139" title>[139]</a> Letter from Dr
<a href="#_ftnref140" id="_ftn140" name="_ftn140" title>[140]</a> Letter from Dr
NVB decision - BKK regarding objection submitted by an individual,” April 3
https://www.valasztas.hu/hatarozat-megjelenito/-/hatarozat/300-2022-nvb-hatarozat-b-k-k-maganszemely-altal-benyujtott-kifogas-targyaban (accessed November 28
<a href="#_ftnref141" id="_ftn141" name="_ftn141" title>[141]</a> “113/2022
Regarding the objection submitted by HAM,” February 28
<a href="#_ftnref142" id="_ftn142" name="_ftn142" title>[142]</a> “KURIA Decision Kvk.II.39.260/2022/5”
2022 https://www.kuria-birosag.hu/hu/valhat/kvkii3926020225-szamu-hatarozat (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref143" id="_ftn143" name="_ftn143" title>[143]</a> “Constitutional complaint against the ruling No
Kvk.II.39.260/2022/5 of the Curia,” March 11
http://public.mkab.hu/dev/dontesek.nsf/0/D61D8F4F3C497F02C1258800004A3396?OpenDocument&amp;english (accessed November 21
“Constitutional Court: The government can criticize the opposition in the coronavirus newsletter,” March 24
https://rtl.hu/valasztas-2022/2022/03/24/koronavirus-hirlevel-valasztasi-kampany-alkotmanybirosag (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref144" id="_ftn144" name="_ftn144" title>[144]</a> NAIH
“Statement of position regarding the data protection issues of newsletters related to registration on the website vaccinainfo.gov.hu,” April 2
https://www.naih.hu/adatvedelmi-allasfoglalasok/file/509-allasfoglalas-a-vakcinainfo-gov-hu-oldalon-torteno-regisztraciohoz-kotodo-hirlevelek-adatvedelmi-kerdesei-kapcsan (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref145" id="_ftn145" name="_ftn145" title>[145]</a> Hungary’s Vaccine Registration Website
<a href="#_ftnref146" id="_ftn146" name="_ftn146" title>[146]</a> The principle of purpose limitation states that all personal data should be collected for a determined
Any further processing must not be incompatible with the purposes specified at the outset (i.e
This essentially means that it is not acceptable to state that you need a person’s data for one purpose
and then use it for something else without notice or justification
“A Guide for Policy Engagement on Data Protection The Keys to Data Protection,” August 2018
https://privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2018-09/Data%20Protection%20COMPLETE.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref147" id="_ftn147" name="_ftn147" title>[147]</a> TASZ
<a href="#_ftnref148" id="_ftn148" name="_ftn148" title>[148]</a> Fenyo
“Hungary rights groups urge invalid votes to defeat Orban's LGBTQ referendum,” Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-rights-groups-urge-invalid-votes-defeat-orbans-lgbtq-referendum-2022-03-28/ (accessed November 21
2022); "Hungarian Groups Fight Fines for Supporting LGBT Rights,” Human Rights Watch news release
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/22/hungarian-groups-fight-fines-supporting-lgbt-rights
<a href="#_ftnref149" id="_ftn149" name="_ftn149" title>[149]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
“Lessons Learned from Legal Remedies,” 2022
https://helsinki.hu/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Legal_remedy_elections.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref150" id="_ftn150" name="_ftn150" title>[150]</a> National Election Commission
“NVB decision - the Hungarian Helsinki Committee
Amnesty International Hungary; the Background Company
https://www.valasztas.hu/hatarozat-megjelenito/-/hatarozat/259-2022-nvb-hatarozat-a-magyar-helsinki-bizottsag-a-r-b-az-amnesty-international-magyarorszag-a-hatter-tarsasag-dr-h-a-m-es-dr-k-zs-altal-benyujtott- (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref151" id="_ftn151" name="_ftn151" title>[151]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
https://kuria-birosag.hu/en/node/16622 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref152" id="_ftn152" name="_ftn152" title>[152]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with “Szofia,” a voter from Budapest
For more information on national consultations
see the case study on the Kubatov list or a link to a recent consultation: https://abouthungary.hu/blog/here-s-the-latest-national-consultation-questionnaire (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref153" id="_ftn153" name="_ftn153" title>[153]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Borbála F.
<a href="#_ftnref154" id="_ftn154" name="_ftn154" title>[154]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with “Dave,” May 29
<a href="#_ftnref155" id="_ftn155" name="_ftn155" title>[155]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with “Ágnes Kovács,” May 5
<a href="#_ftnref156" id="_ftn156" name="_ftn156" title>[156]</a> National Legal Repository
12.) Government decree in view of the state of emergency
on other measures related to the tax refund of private individuals raising children,” 2022
https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/2022-5-20-22.0 (accessed November 21
2022 and at time of writing the decree has not been replaced with a similar authorization under the new state of danger declared on May 25
Source: Email from Hungarian Helsinki Committee
<a href="#_ftnref157" id="_ftn157" name="_ftn157" title>[157]</a> TASZ
the Chamber of Agriculture’s Data Protection page: https://www.nak.hu/kamara/adatvedelem (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref158" id="_ftn158" name="_ftn158" title>[158]</a> “Ugyfelkapu,” accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref159" id="_ftn159" name="_ftn159" title>[159]</a> “EESZT Information portal,” accessed November 21
“The role of the EESZT in Hungarian Healthcare,” accessed November 21
https://e-egeszsegugy.gov.hu/web/eeszt-information-portal/the-role-of-the-eeszt-in-hungarian-healthcare
<a href="#_ftnref160" id="_ftn160" name="_ftn160" title>[160]</a> National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK)
“Tasks of the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary (Hungarian acronym: NEAK),” accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref161" id="_ftn161" name="_ftn161" title>[161]</a> “Notification of Change of Address,” last modified July 29
https://magyarorszag.hu/szuf_fooldal#ugyleiras,7e085583-2d6d-4c31-8ee4-fe1303e7ff2f (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref162" id="_ftn162" name="_ftn162" title>[162]</a> Hungarian State Treasury (Magyar Államkincstár)
“Social Security and Family Support,” https://tcs.allamkincstar.gov.hu/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref163" id="_ftn163" name="_ftn163" title>[163]</a> “Újra a nyugdíjasok postaládájába kerül a közpénzből fizetett kormánypropaganda,” !!44!!!
https://444.hu/2021/09/17/ujra-a-nyugdijasok-postaladajaba-kerul-a-kozpenzbol-fizetett-kormanypropaganda (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref164" id="_ftn164" name="_ftn164" title>[164]</a> European Data Protection Board
“Statement 2/2019 on the use of personal data in the course of political campaigns,” March 13
https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/default/files/files/file1/edpb-2019-03-13-statement-on-elections_en.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref165" id="_ftn165" name="_ftn165" title>[165]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Sandor Lederer
<a href="#_ftnref166" id="_ftn166" name="_ftn166" title>[166]</a> “Hungary: Media Law Endangers Press Freedom Problematic Legislation Part of Wider Concern About Country’s Rights Record”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/01/07/hungary-media-law-endangers-press-freedom; Central European University
“Report: Establishment of KESMA Exacerbates the Overall Risk to Media Pluralism in Hungary,” August 8
https://cmds.ceu.edu/article/2019-08-08/report-establishment-kesma-exacerbates-overall-risk-media-pluralism-hungary (accessed November 21
2022); “Mindent beborít a Fidesz-közeli média,” Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely
<a href="#_ftnref167" id="_ftn167" name="_ftn167" title>[167]</a> Hungary Today
State Media Gives Five Minutes to Each Opposition Party before Election,” March 12
https://hungarytoday.hu/public-state-media-opposition-fidesz-bias-media-freedom-election/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref168" id="_ftn168" name="_ftn168" title>[168]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
<a href="#_ftnref169" id="_ftn169" name="_ftn169" title>[169]</a> “United for Hungary’s Privacy Policy” last archived March 8
2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220303082008/https://egysegbenmagyarorszagert.hu/privacy-policy/ (Accessed November 21
2022); “United for Hungary Privacy Notice” https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/071/755/original/Adatkezele%CC%81si_ta%CC%81je%CC%81koztato%CC%81_csatlakoza%CC%81s_6p_20220208.pdf (Accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref170" id="_ftn170" name="_ftn170" title>[170]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Daniel Konkoly
<a href="#_ftnref171" id="_ftn171" name="_ftn171" title>[171]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
<a href="#_ftnref172" id="_ftn172" name="_ftn172" title>[172]</a> Interview with Csaba Tóth
<a href="#_ftnref173" id="_ftn173" name="_ftn173" title>[173]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Csaba Tóth
<a href="#_ftnref174" id="_ftn174" name="_ftn174" title>[174]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Róbert László
<a href="#_ftnref175" id="_ftn175" name="_ftn175" title>[175]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Csaba Tóth
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Viktor Szigetvari
<a href="#_ftnref176" id="_ftn176" name="_ftn176" title>[176]</a> Viktor Szigetvári
“6 things to know about WinWith.Me,” Nation Builder
<a href="#_ftnref177" id="_ftn177" name="_ftn177" title>[177]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Borbála F.
<a href="#_ftnref178" id="_ftn178" name="_ftn178" title>[178]</a> TASZ
<a href="#_ftnref179" id="_ftn179" name="_ftn179" title>[179]</a> Letter from Dr
President of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information to Human Rights Watch
Given the perceived lack of objectivity of the NAIH
the complaint reporting could be biased against the opposition
<a href="#_ftnref180" id="_ftn180" name="_ftn180" title>[180]</a> Hungarian Helsinki Committee
<a href="#_ftnref181" id="_ftn181" name="_ftn181" title>[181]</a> National Election Commission
NVB decision - regarding the appeal submitted by VCC Live Hungary Limited Liability Company,” April 11
NVB decision – regarding the appeal submitted by VCC Live Hungary Limited Liability Company,” NEC Decision 335/2022
https://www.valasztas.hu/hatarozat-megjelenito/-/hatarozat/335-2022-nvb-hatarozat-a-vcc-live-hungary-korlatolt-felelossegu-tarsasag-altal-benyujtott-fellebbezes-targyaban (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref182" id="_ftn182" name="_ftn182" title>[182]</a> National Election Commission
“NVB decision - regarding the objection submitted by a private individual,” NEC Decision 345/2022
https://www.valasztas.hu/hatarozat-megjelenito/-/hatarozat/345-2022-nvb-hatarozat-o-cs-i-maganszemely-altal-benyujtott-kifogas-targyaban (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref183" id="_ftn183" name="_ftn183" title>[183]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Daniel Konkoly
<a href="#_ftnref184" id="_ftn184" name="_ftn184" title>[184]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
2022; Human Rights Watch interview with Daniel Konkoly
<a href="#_ftnref185" id="_ftn185" name="_ftn185" title>[185]</a> Letter from Csaba Tóth
Data Protection Officer LMP to Human Rights Watch
<a href="#_ftnref186" id="_ftn186" name="_ftn186" title>[186]</a> Letter from Dr
Data Protection Officer Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom to Human Rights Watch
<a href="#_ftnref187" id="_ftn187" name="_ftn187" title>[187]</a> Letter from Dr
<a href="#_ftnref188" id="_ftn188" name="_ftn188" title>[188]</a> SzondaPhone Telemarketing
<a href="#_ftnref189" id="_ftn189" name="_ftn189" title>[189]</a> Section 13/A(4) E-Commerce Act: “Act CVIII of 2001 on Electronic Commerce and on Information Society Services“
See: https://english.nmhh.hu/document/213838/act_cviii_of_2001.pdf (Accessed November 21
2022); Section 162 of the Electronic Communications Act: Use of Data for Direct Marketing and for Information: “Act CVIII of 2001 on Electronic Commerce and on Information Society Services”
See: https://www.ott-regulation.com/download/act_c_of_2003.pdf (Accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref190" id="_ftn190" name="_ftn190" title>[190]</a> Facebook rebranded itself to Meta in October 2021
When referring to events that happened before October 2021 or that are specific to the Facebook platform
this report uses “Facebook.” When referring to the company more generally after October 2021
<a href="#_ftnref191" id="_ftn191" name="_ftn191" title>[191]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
<a href="#_ftnref192" id="_ftn192" name="_ftn192" title>[192]</a> Statista
“Number of Facebook users in Hungary from September 2018 to October 2022,” November 3
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1029770/facebook-users-hungary/ (accessed November 3
<a href="#_ftnref193" id="_ftn193" name="_ftn193" title>[193]</a> UNFPA
https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/HU
<a href="#_ftnref194" id="_ftn194" name="_ftn194" title>[194]</a> Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
“Hungary Parliamentary Elections and Referendum”
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/6/523568.pdf"https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/2/6/523568.pdf
<a href="#_ftnref195" id="_ftn195" name="_ftn195" title>[195]</a> Ghosh
“Algorithms that ‘Don’t See Color’: Measuring Biases in Lookalike and Special Ad Audiences,” Proceedings of the 2022 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI
and Society (2022) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1912.07579 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref196" id="_ftn196" name="_ftn196" title>[196]</a> Frederike Kaltheuner
https://edri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/EDRi_Discrimination_Online.pdf (accessed November 21
2022); European Partnership for Democracy “Targeting and amplification in online political advertising,” https://epd.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/opa-2nd-publication-last.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref197" id="_ftn197" name="_ftn197" title>[197]</a> Athanasios Andreou
“Investigating Ad Transparency Mechanisms in Social Media: A Case Study of Facebook’s Explanations,” February 21
﷟https://mislove.org/publications/Explanations-NDSS.pdf (accessed November 21
Facebook in Polish election campaign,” 2018
https://panoptykon.org/political-ads-report (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref198" id="_ftn198" name="_ftn198" title>[198]</a> Facebook
“AD Library,” https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/report/?source=archive-landing-page&amp;country=HU (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref199" id="_ftn199" name="_ftn199" title>[199]</a> According to the OSCE
the effectiveness of campaign spending limits was undermined by extensive third-party spending
and that such spending primarily benefitted the ruling
The OSCE also observed that “[s]ubstantial sums were spent on Facebook advertising
led by third-party entities associated with Fidesz.” See: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
“Hungary Parliamentary Elections and Referendum,” 3 April 2022
2022); For more on the role of third-party entities associated with political parties in Hungary
“Agents of Influence: Hidden Malign Domestic and Foreign ‘Grey Zone’ Media Influence in Hungary,” 2022
https://www.politicalcapital.hu/pc-admin/source/documents/PoliticalCapital_Grey_Zone_HU_20220523.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref200" id="_ftn200" name="_ftn200" title>[200]</a> Telex calculated that during the 50-day campaign period (February 12 – April 3
Fidesz-KDNP spent approximately 349.4 million HUF (896,389 USD) and United for Hungary spent 348.3 million HUF (893,567 USD)
When factoring in unofficial advertising expenditures by politically aligned actors
Fidesz-KDNP spent 1.810 billion HUF (4,643,573 USD) and United for Hungary spent 1.012 billion HUF (2,596,296 USD)
https://telex.hu/belfold/2022/04/08/kampany-a-facebookon-50-nap-3-milliard-forint (accessed November 21
2022); Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty tracked campaign advertisement spending on Facebook between July 2021 and April 2022
which is outside the official campaign period
but includes unofficial pre-election campaign
Its calculations include “grey zone” spending by private individuals
state organizations or propaganda that could be clearly classified as supporting either campaign as well as official party spending; The OSCE calculated that between 5 March and 3 April
entities associated with the ruling party spent some HUF 716 million (EUR 1.9 million) on Facebook advertising; entities associated with the opposition spent some HUF 606 million (EUR 1.6 million)
<a href="#_ftnref201" id="_ftn201" name="_ftn201" title>[201]</a> RFE/RL found that approximately 3,390,000,000 HUF (9,726,656 USD) was spent on campaign ads supporting Fidesz
and approximately 1,400,000,000 HUF (4,016,908 USD) on campaign ads supporting the opposition
“Politics has taken over Facebook – follow the parties’ campaign spending with us!” Szabad Europa
https://www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/folyamatosan-frissulo-adatok-a-facebookos-politikai-hirdetesek/31693440.html (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref202" id="_ftn202" name="_ftn202" title>[202]</a> Leerssen
“Platform ad archives: promises and pitfalls,” 2019
https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/platform-ad-archives-promises-and-pitfalls (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref203" id="_ftn203" name="_ftn203" title>[203]</a> Athanasios Andreou
“Investigating Ad Transparency Mechanisms in Social Media: A Case Study of Facebook’s Explanations,” February 18-21
https://mislove.org/publications/Explanations-NDSS.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref204" id="_ftn204" name="_ftn204" title>[204]</a> When seeing an ad
users can request more information when clicking “why am I seeing this ad.” However
Facebook only provides high-level explanations
such as an age range or location and states that “your personalized ads may be based on other advertiser choices
your profile and activities – like websites you visit and ads you interact with.” See Meta
“How advertisers’ audience selections appear in “Why am I seeing this ad?” https://www.facebook.com/business/m/why-am-i-seeing-this-ad; see also
<a href="#_ftnref205" id="_ftn205" name="_ftn205" title>[205]</a> The European Parliament
“Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data
and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)”
See Article 9(2) for other valid reasons for processing special categories of personal data under Article 9: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02016R0679-20160504&amp;from=EN (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref206" id="_ftn206" name="_ftn206" title>[206]</a> Frederike Kaltheuner
<a href="#_ftnref207" id="_ftn207" name="_ftn207" title>[207]</a> European Data Protection Supervisor
“The EU’s Independent Data Protection Authority: On the Proposal for Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising”
https://edps.europa.eu/system/files/2022-01/edps_opinion_political_ads_en.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref208" id="_ftn208" name="_ftn208" title>[208]</a> European Data Protection Board
“Guidelines 8/2020 on the targeting of social media users Version 2.0,” April 13
https://edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2021-04/edpb_guidelines_082020_on_the_targeting_of_social_media_users_en.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref209" id="_ftn209" name="_ftn209" title>[209]</a> Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
<a href="#_ftnref210" id="_ftn210" name="_ftn210" title>[210]</a> Civil Liberties Union for Europe
“Political Advertising on Facebook During the 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Election
https://dq4n3btxmr8c9.cloudfront.net/files/fs3mhp/Political_Advertising_on_FB_HU2022.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref211" id="_ftn211" name="_ftn211" title>[211]</a> Meta
“How advertisers’ audience selections appear in ‘Why am I seeing this ad?’” https://www.facebook.com/business/m/why-am-i-seeing-this-ad (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref212" id="_ftn212" name="_ftn212" title>[212]</a> Meta for Developers
“Custom Audience Data Source,” https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/reference/custom-audience-data-source/ (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref213" id="_ftn213" name="_ftn213" title>[213]</a> Panoptykon
<a href="#_ftnref214" id="_ftn214" name="_ftn214" title>[214]</a> Facebook’s prediction of what a user may like or engage with relies on machine learning which detects patters that humans could not
some of these patterns may be proxies for protected attributes like race or political beliefs
Facebook no longer allowed advertisers to directly exclude people
But research found that ad optimization still leads to discriminatory outcomes even if the advertiser didn’t intend to discriminate
<a href="#_ftnref215" id="_ftn215" name="_ftn215" title>[215]</a> Ghosh
“Potential for Discrimination in Online Targeted Advertising,” FAT 2018 - Conference on Fairness
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01955343/file/Speicher-etal_PotentialAdDiscrimination_FAT2018.pdf (Accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref216" id="_ftn216" name="_ftn216" title>[216]</a> Meta
“Removing Certain Ad Targeting Options and Expanding Our Ad Controls,” November 9
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/removing-certain-ad-targeting-options-and-expanding-our-ad-controls
<a href="#_ftnref217" id="_ftn217" name="_ftn217" title>[217]</a> Civil Liberties Union for Europe
“Political Advertising on Facebook During the 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Elections
<a href="#_ftnref218" id="_ftn218" name="_ftn218" title>[218]</a> The methodology employed in this research and explained in this section draws inspiration from and builds on: Human Rights Watch
Children’s Rights Violations by Governments that Endorsed Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic”
https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/25/how-dare-they-peep-my-private-life/childrens-rights-violations-governments
<a href="#_ftnref219" id="_ftn219" name="_ftn219" title>[219]</a> Surya Mattu and Colin Lecher
https://themarkup.org/pixel-hunt/2022/04/28/applied-for-student-aid-online-facebook-saw-you (accessed
<a href="#_ftnref220" id="_ftn220" name="_ftn220" title>[220]</a> Ibid
Facebook describes the pixel as “The Facebook pixel is a snippet of JavaScript code that loads a small library of functions you can use to track Facebook ad-driven visitor activity on your website
which enable us to match your website visitors to their respective Facebook User accounts.” See: Facebook
“Facebook Pixel: Implementation,” https://developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-pixel/implementation (accessed September 16
“How We Built a Meta Pixel Inspector,” The Markup
https://themarkup.org/show-your-work/2022/04/28/how-we-built-a-meta-pixel-inspector (accessed September 16
2022); See also: “’How Dare They Peep into My Private Life?’ Children’s Rights Violations by Governments that Endorsed Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic,” Human Rights Watch
<a href="#_ftnref221" id="_ftn221" name="_ftn221" title>[221]</a> Meta provides guidance to website developers on how to be GDPR compliant while using Pixel
which states that “Businesses who advertise with the Facebook companies can continue to use Facebook platforms and solutions in the same way they do today
Each company is responsible for ensuring their own compliance with the GDPR
just as they are responsible for compliance with the laws that apply to them today.” See: Facebook
“Facebook Pixel: Implementation,” https://developers.facebook.com/docs/meta-pixel/implementation/gdpr
according to the European Data Protection Board’s Guidelines 8/2020 on the targeting of social media users
businesses who advertise with Facebook companies and Facebook companies are joint controllers
This means that the social media provider is also under an obligation to undertake appropriate measures to meet the requirements of the GDPR and protect the rights of data subjects against unlawful forms of processing
See: European Data Protection Board,”Guidelines 8/2020 on the targeting of social media users Version 2.0”
2021 https://edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2021-04/edpb_guidelines_082020_on_the_targeting_of_social_media_users_en.pdf
<a href="#_ftnref223" id="_ftn223" name="_ftn223" title>[223]</a> UN Human Rights Council
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/reports/ahrc3929-right-privacy-digital-age-report-united-nations-high-commissioner-human (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref224" id="_ftn224" name="_ftn224" title>[224]</a> Amnesty International “Surveillance Giants: How the business model of Google and Facebook threatens human rights,” 2019
https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/POL3014042019ENGLISH.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref225" id="_ftn225" name="_ftn225" title>[225]</a> Privacy International
“Your mental health for sale: How websites about depression share data with advertisers and leak depression test results,” September 2019
﷟https://privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Your%20mental%20health%20for%20sale%20-%20Privacy%20International.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref226" id="_ftn226" name="_ftn226" title>[226]</a> Article 9(1) and (2)(a) of GDPR
Whilst there are other exceptions for the processing of special category personal data
explicit consent is likely the only relevant one in the context of the processing which is the focus of this research
<a href="#_ftnref227" id="_ftn227" name="_ftn227" title>[227]</a> Mattu
Blacklight: A Real-Time Website Privacy Investigator
<a href="#_ftnref228" id="_ftn228" name="_ftn228" title>[228]</a> The Markup
<a href="#_ftnref229" id="_ftn229" name="_ftn229" title>[229]</a> Mattu
“How We Built a Real-time Privacy Inspector,” The Markup
https://themarkup.org/blacklight/2020/09/22/how-we-built-a-real-time-privacy-inspector (accessed September 9
<a href="#_ftnref230" id="_ftn230" name="_ftn230" title>[230]</a> Ibid
AdTech companies and their domains were identified by using DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar
“DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar Exposes Hidden Tracking,” March 5
https://spreadprivacy.com/duckduckgo-tracker-radar/ (accessed September 9
<a href="#_ftnref231" id="_ftn231" name="_ftn231" title>[231]</a> The Markup
https://github.com/the-markup/blacklight-collector (accessed September 9
https://github.com/the-markup/blacklight-reporter (accessed September 9
<a href="#_ftnref232" id="_ftn232" name="_ftn232" title>[232]</a> A virtual private network is a type of proxy that lets users browse the internet as if they were coming from the VPN’s servers which are often located in some other part of the world
Human Rights Watch used a VPN set to Hungary in conducting this technical analysis to simulate the experience of a user accessing the political parties and campaigns’ websites inside of Hungary
<a href="#_ftnref233" id="_ftn233" name="_ftn233" title>[233]</a> The most common AdTech to which parties and campaigns were sending their data were: google-analytics.com
<a href="#_ftnref234" id="_ftn234" name="_ftn234" title>[234]</a> None explicitly said they were using Facebook Pixel to retarget users with political ads on Facebook
Human Rights Watch interview with Agócs Ádám
<a href="#_ftnref235" id="_ftn235" name="_ftn235" title>[235]</a> Mattu
<a href="#_ftnref236" id="_ftn236" name="_ftn236" title>[236]</a> Letter from Csaba Tóth
<a href="#_ftnref237" id="_ftn237" name="_ftn237" title>[237]</a> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref238" id="_ftn238" name="_ftn238" title>[238]</a> UN General Assembly
Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F68%2F299&amp;Language=E&amp;DeviceType=Desktop&amp;LangRequested=False (accessed November 21 2022)
<a href="#_ftnref239" id="_ftn239" name="_ftn239" title>[239]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref240" id="_ftn240" name="_ftn240" title>[240]</a> UN Human Rights Council
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F26%2F30&amp;Language=E&amp;DeviceType=Desktop&amp;LangRequested=False (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref241" id="_ftn241" name="_ftn241" title>[241]</a> The Fundamental Law of Hungary
https://web.archive.org/web/20120505113747/http://www.kormany.hu/download/2/ab/30000/Alap_angol.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref242" id="_ftn242" name="_ftn242" title>[242]</a> Nemzeti Választási Iroda
<a href="#_ftnref243" id="_ftn243" name="_ftn243" title>[243]</a> UN Human Rights Instruments
“Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies,” HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/TB/HRI-GEN-1-REV-9-VOL-I_en.doc (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref244" id="_ftn244" name="_ftn244" title>[244]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref245" id="_ftn245" name="_ftn245" title>[245]</a> “The EU General Data Protection Regulation Questions and Answers,” Human Rights Watch news release
<a href="#_ftnref246" id="_ftn246" name="_ftn246" title>[246]</a> “The gathering and holding of personal information on computers
whether by public authorities or private individuals or bodies
[E]very individual should have the right to ascertain in an intelligible form
what personal data is stored in automatic data files
Every individual should also be able to ascertain which public authorities or private individuals or bodies control or may control their files
have been collected or processed contrary to the provisions of the law
every individual should have the right to request rectification or elimination.” UN Human Rights Committee
See also: https://privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2018-09/Part%201%20-%20Data%20Protection%2C%20Explained.pdf (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref247" id="_ftn247" name="_ftn247" title>[247]</a> United Nations
“The right to privacy in the digital age: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,” A/HRC/39/29
<a href="#_ftnref248" id="_ftn248" name="_ftn248" title>[248]</a> “Act CXII of 2011 on the right of informational self-determination and on freedom of information,” https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/2011-112-00-00 (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref249" id="_ftn249" name="_ftn249" title>[249]</a> European Union
2022 ); “The EU General Data Protection Regulation Questions and Answers,” Human Rights Watch news release
<a href="#_ftnref250" id="_ftn250" name="_ftn250" title>[250]</a> GDPR
Article 9 Paragraph 1 prohibits the processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin
biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person
data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation
Article 9 Paragraph 2 outlines conditions in which Paragraph 2 shall not apply
including when the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes (a) and when processing is carried out in the course of its legitimate activities with appropriate safeguards by a foundation
association or any other not-for-profit body with a political
religious or trade union aim and on condition that the processing relates solely to the members or to former members of the body or to persons who have regular contact with it in connection with its purposes and that the personal data are not disclosed outside that body without the consent of the data subjects (d)
<a href="#_ftnref251" id="_ftn251" name="_ftn251" title>[251]</a> European Data Protection Board
<a href="#_ftnref252" id="_ftn252" name="_ftn252" title>[252]</a> Ibid
<a href="#_ftnref253" id="_ftn253" name="_ftn253" title>[253]</a> Council of Europe
<a href="#_ftnref254" id="_ftn254" name="_ftn254" title>[254]</a> Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
<a href="#_ftnref255" id="_ftn255" name="_ftn255" title>[255]</a> Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data ETS No 108
“Guidelines on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data by and for Political Campaigns,” November 19
﷟https://rm.coe.int/t-pd-bur-2021-3rev4-fin-draft-guidelines-political-campaigns/1680a4a36d (accessed November 21
<a href="#_ftnref256" id="_ftn256" name="_ftn256" title>[256]</a> Ibid
12/19/22: We have updated the online and PDF version of this report to reflect that fact that the Hungarian government responded to our report and covering letter after our publication date and to include the Hungarian government’s response as an appendix to the report
Human Rights Watch  is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808
Naționala feminină a Moldovei s-a impus astăzi în cel de-al doilea meci amical
Partida de pe CPSM din Vadul lui Vodă s-a încheiat cu scorul de 2-0 în favoarea tricolorelor noastre
Primul amical dintre cele două reprezentative
Arbitri asistenți:&nbsp;Maryna Streletska,&nbsp;Oleksandra Vdovina (tustrei din Ucraina)
Al 4-lea oficial:&nbsp;&nbsp;Elena Gobjilă (Moldova)
Moldova:&nbsp;12.Natalia Munteanu,&nbsp;2.Cristina Cerescu
9.Daniela Mardari (15.Felicia Guțu,&nbsp;73)
10.Carolina Țabur (5.Victoria Rubanovici,&nbsp;46)
11.Claudia Chiper (7.Carina Doiban,&nbsp;73)
58),&nbsp;17.Andreea Costin (16.Madalina Badiceanu,&nbsp;58)
22.Iuliana Colnic (8.Anastasia Toma,&nbsp;68)
promovarea și protejarea fotbalului în Moldova
<a title="1 decembrie by peromaneste, on Flickr" href="https://heritage-key.com/assets/2019/05/4151988974_50559da60a.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>
The exhibition &#8220;<a href="https://heritage-key.com/exhibition/lost-world-old-europe-danube-valley-5000%E2%80%933500-bc">The Lost World of Old Europe,</a>&#8221; which opened in Nov
has raised some very interesting questions about prehistoric societies and how they changed
guest curator of the exhibition and a leading anthropologist specializing in prehistoric Europe
raised a particularly powerful issue &#8211; why did the collapse of a highly sophisticated
matriarchal culture in what is now Bulgaria
Some clues might come from the recent finds in Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova that show a sophisticated society flourished there between 5,000BC and 3,500BC, most likely with women in charge. These matriarchal <a target="_blank" href="https://heritage-key.com/publication/europe-between-oceans-barry-cunliffe" rel="noopener noreferrer">Old Europe </a>communities
which grew into some of the biggest cities then in existence (some had 2,000 buildings)
but had no large municipal buildings such as palaces or places of worship
women were at the top in one of the oldest civilizations in the world
The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nyu.edu/isaw/exhibitions/oldeurope/introduction.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Old Europe</a> communities show signs of dramatic
in the Southern regions around 4,300BC and in the North around 3,500BC
There is evidence of intrusion from the East by a nomadic culture from the Steppes of Eurasia
Its not entirely clear whether this was a violent invasion or a more subtle VHS-is-better-than-Betamax cultural shift
with the invention of the wheel-and-axle combination that made it feasible to build load-bearing vehicles such as carts
and the domestication of horses to pull them
is that you no longer needed a whole village of people to bring in the harvest
hand-carrying every armful to the grain store
This, it seems, tempted people into spreading out from their cramped, dirty, conurbations and gave them the freedom to look with a pioneers longing at the huge expanses of grassland to the East. The wheel meant you could kiss your village goodbye, said Anthony, at a lecture delivered at New York Universitys Institute for Study of the Ancient World (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nyu.edu/isaw/" rel="noopener noreferrer">ISAW</a>) in New York
What is certain is that the hugely concentrated urban settlements were abandoned
and the people went wandering off into the vastness of Eurasia to begin a whole new period of human history
Was there something about the huddling together of homes that gave women the upper hand
Were women the ones who brokered a sufficient peace between neighbours that made gathering the harvest
Is there a correspondingly male advantage to grabbing your horse and your family and making it on your own
I like to think that the men simply felt it was time someone else got a shot at running things
and used the changes in lifestyle to grab power
true power is almost never given: it is taken
Who knows what happened out there on the steppes
Thats what I love about Old Europe, says <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nyu.edu/isaw/faculty_clinical.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jennifer Chi</a>, curator of the &#8220;Lost World of Old Europe&#8221; <a target="_blank" href="https://heritage-key.com/exhibition/lost-world-old-europe-danube-valley-5000%E2%80%933500-bc" rel="noopener noreferrer">exhibition </a>at ISAW
As long as you stay respectful of the undisputed facts turned up by archaeological artefacts
Gut-wrenching pictures and video documented the beginning of the end for one of the world's most iconic telescopes.&nbsp;
The 900-ton platform that hung above the radio dish fell 450 feet (140 meters) into the structure below around 8 a.m
The pictures of the destruction are sad, although the situation was not a surprise after the National Science Foundation <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed" target="_blank" data-before-rewrite-localise="https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed">announced days ago it would need to decommission the observatory</a> following hurricane and cable damage at the famed observatory
Related: <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.space.com/arecibo-radio-telescope-collapses" target="_blank" data-before-rewrite-localise="https://www.space.com/arecibo-radio-telescope-collapses">The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico has collapsed</a>
Pointing at a large poster-picture of the cables holding up Arecibo's platform
V&aacute;zquez said that through the past week those working at the observatory saw strands coming off the remaining three cables holding up the platform on one side
The strands were sure signs of more stress coming on the cables due to fewer of them holding up the platform's weight
The other side of the platform still had cables under tension
but took approximately 30 seconds to glide into the radio dish
Related:&nbsp;<a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-science-impact-and-culture" target="_blank" data-before-rewrite-localise="https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-science-impact-and-culture">Losing Arecibo Observatory creates a science hole that can't be filled</a>
&Aacute;ngel V&aacute;zquez explains the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory @SaveTheAO. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/7VCZNCFsA4<a href="https://twitter.com/ruperto1023/status/1333835086429638658" data-url="https://twitter.com/ruperto1023/status/1333835086429638658" target="_blank" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" data-hl-processed="none">December 1, 2020</a>
<a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHXCWr7xt0&amp;amp;feature=emb_title" target="_blank" data-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHXCWr7xt0&amp;amp;feature=emb_title" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" data-hl-processed="none">Drone footage taken after the collapse</a> shows the crumpled cable towers lying on top of the dish
with tower pieces and other debris scattered around the area
Numerous pictures posted on Getty Images by photographer Ricardo Arduengo of Agence France-Presse show the radio dish elements split in the middle from the force of the fall.&nbsp;
"Engineers are on-site. Top priorities are maintaining safety at the site and assessing damage," NSF <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://twitter.com/NSF/status/1333848309631512576" target="_blank" data-url="https://twitter.com/NSF/status/1333848309631512576" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" data-hl-processed="none">said on Twitter</a>
along with a closeup of the damage showing crumpling in the radio telescope
"We knew this was a possibility, but it is still heartbreaking to see," Elizabeth Klonoff, vice-president for research at UCF, <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.ucf.edu/news/arecibo-observatorys-telescope-collapses/" target="_blank" data-url="https://www.ucf.edu/news/arecibo-observatorys-telescope-collapses/" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" data-hl-processed="none">said in an NSF statement</a>
"Safety of personnel is our number one priority
We already have engineers on site to help assess the damage and determine the stability and safety of the remaining structure
We will continue to work with the NSF and other stakeholders to find ways to support the science mission at Arecibo."
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook
<a href="https://forums.space.com/">Join our Space Forums</a> to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: <a href="mailto:community@space.com">community@space.com.</a>
James Webb Space Telescope captures thousands of galaxies in a cosmic 'feast' (image)
Astronomers gaze into 'dark nebula' 60 times the size of the solar system (video)
10 must-have 'Star Wars' books and novels coming soon to your galaxy
Milan are seventh in Serie A following Saturday&#39;s 3-0 win over Empoli at San Siro
after Alvaro Morata had broken the deadlock
as Milan impressively put a defensively sound Empoli team to the sword
But Milan are seven points back from league leaders Napoli
while they are six points off the top four
we have to keep pushing,&quot; said Reijnders
&quot;Good match but the points distance from the Champions League places weighs [heavily]
&quot;We play to win [but] we are not satisfied with the position.&quot;
credited his team&#39;s performance at both ends of the pitch
as they limited Empoli to zero shots on target and kept a fifth clean sheet in the space of seven home matches in Serie A this term
&quot;We played a great game against a team that is very aggressive defensively
which has the fourth-best defence in the championship,&quot; Fonseca told reporters
the [quick] recovery of the ball in the offensive half of the pitch
&quot;We scored three goals but could have scored six or seven if we hadn&#39;t made the wrong last choices.&quot;
Tijjani Reijnders conceded Milan are not where they want to be in Serie A
despite his double leading them to a 3-0 win over Empoli.Tijjani Reijnders warned Milan against any complacency as they look to chase down Champions League qualification
Right: Goga bust at Central Park Simion Bărnuțiu
Beiuș and eight other towns — For most of WWII
Romania was ruled by the dictator Ion Antonescu (1882–1946)
a Nazi ally seen with Hitler in the photo below
During this time, Romania ran with the blood of over 400,000 Jews and Roma, who were butchered in pogroms, gunned down in ravines, imprisoned in unspeakable conditions, and deported to concentration camps for elimination. In 2004, a commission of international Holocaust experts <a href="https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/en/report/english/Findings_Recommendations.pdf">concluded that</a> “Romania bears responsibility for the deaths of more Jews than any country other than Germany itself.”
Thank you also to Marius Cazan and Maximillian Marco Katz for sharing their deep knowledge of Holocaust whitewashing in Romania
Update (January 2023): this month, the city council voted against removing Vulcănescu’s bust in Bucharest.  See coverage in the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-726575">Jerusalem Post</a>
Costinești — A street named after Gheorghe Alexianu (1897–1946)
Alexianu turned the region into a vast killing field for Jews and Roma
He arranged concentration camps to imprison Jews and Roma who had been deported to Transnistria from other regions in Romania and Ukraine
Alexianu ordered the deportation of Jews from Odessa
a city where Jewish culture thrived; Odessa’s Jews were massacred afterward
at least 12,000 Roma and 280,000–380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews were murdered under Romanian rule
German and Romanian soldiers deport Bessarabian Jews to concentration camps
Cluj-Napoca and 89 other towns — A monument to Octavian Goga (1881–1938), poet and rabid <a href="http://www.inshr-ew.ro/ro/files/Raport%2520Final/Final_Report.pdf">antisemite</a> who served as Romania’s prime minister before Miron Cristea (see above). Goga, who cofounded the antisemitic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Christian_Party">National Christian Party</a> which featured a swastika in its logo and regularly engaged in anti-Jewish violence
used his time as prime minister to enact anti-Jewish legislation
After an outcry which included the Elie Wiesel Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania and antisemitism watchdog MCA Romania
the city added a plaque to the side of Goga’s bust
his political activity is regrettable for the history of Romania because he was a fascist militant and antisemite.” This is an example of contextualization – the notion that instead of removal
monuments to despicable figures should be dealt with via plaques with disclaimers
it achieves the opposite effect: the plaque makes it clear Iași is fully aware Goga was a fascist and antisemite
the contextualization plaque was vandalized
Note: the Bucharest plaque was added to this entry January 2023
Odorheiu Secuiesc and six other towns — Update (January 2023): the Albert Wass bust in Reghin has been removed and the school in Nușeni renamed
This town’s memorial park has a bust of Albert Wass (1908–1998), Hungarian count, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/us-says-hungary-is-responsible-for-fate-of-statue-honoring-anti-semite-437400">poet and antisemite</a> who served in the Nazi-allied Hungarian army
but the bust is coyly named “Secuiului ratacitor,” or “The wandering Hungarian,” most likely to skirt Romania’s law prohibiting the public glorification of war criminals
For more Nyírő monuments, see the <a href="https://forward.com/news/462697/nazi-collaborator-monuments-in-hungary/">Hungary</a> section
Note: the entries below were added during the January 2022 project update
Pitești and four other locales – A street for Nichifor Crainic (1889–1972), yet another ideologue who helped shape the theory of Romanian fascism. “The Jews pose a permanent threat to any nation-state,” <a href="http://miris.eurac.edu/mugs2/do/blob.pdf?type=pdf&amp;serial=1117716572750">wrote</a> Crainic
who served as minister of propaganda in Antonescu’s Romania
He also advocated for the seizure of Jewish property
Crainic has additional streets in Șelimbăr, Valu lui Traian and Vișan, as well as a plaque in <a href="http://roncea.ro/2015/08/02/academicianul-eugen-mihaescu-azi-nichifor-crainic-si-mircea-vulcanescu-sunt-din-nou-pe-lista-neagra-cine-urmeaza-maine-mihai-eminescu/">Bucharest</a>
Jews surrendering property to Romanian authorities
Mangalia and Segarcea – Mangalia has a street for <a href="https://www.jta.org/2016/04/01/default/israel-slams-romanian-journalists-appointment-to-state-television-board">Vintilă Horia</a> (1915–1992)
convicted war criminal and compatriot of Nichifor Crainic (see entry above)
who served in fascist Romania’s diplomatic mission to Rome
He also has a bust (above right) and school in his hometown of Segarcea
Lev Golinkin is a regular contributor to the Forward whose work has also appeared in The New York Times
I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward
American Jews need independent news they can trust
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back
the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S
rising antisemitism and polarized discourse
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on
See our<a href="https://forward.com/about-us/republish-forward-content/"> full guidelines</a> for more information, and<a href="https://yoast.com/rel-canonical/"> this guide</a> for detail about canonical URLs
subject line &#8220;republish,&#8221; with any questions or to let us know what stories you&#8217;re picking up
Copyright &copy; 2025 The Forward Association
Insolvency administrator firm EuroInsol sold the last 272 houses of Green City
the residential project of Dumitru Bucsaru’s bankrupt company built in 1 December locality near Bucharest
part of Hoshen Holdings group of companies
Blue Spot payed around EUR 7.9 million for the houses
at an average price of around EUR 29,000 per unit
Green City residential complex was developed by businessman Dumitru Bucararu on a 120-hectare plot, part of the royal domain, in the 1 Decembrie locality in Ilfov County. <a target="_blank" href="https://myhive-offices.com/en/"></a>
Over 600 villas have been built in three different types: Sena (with 4 rooms and a usable area of ​​108 sqm)
Neva (with 4 rooms and a useful area of ​​118 sqm
still on sale for EUR 97,000 per unit) and Tamisa (5-6 rooms and a useful area of ​​120 sqm)
We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure
providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used
<a class="button" href="https://ipn.gov.pl">Aktualny serwis IPN</a>
Europe was divided into two parts: the democratic West and East
the countries under the domination of the Soviet Union
or how it was assumed to be behind the "Iron curtain”
the communists immediately began attacking churches and believers
The harshest harassment and persecution was primarily directed at the Catholic Church as the largest denomination in several countries of the Soviet bloc states
the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession
and several smaller churches and religious societies were also targeted
The driving force behind these attacks was the fundamental Marxist-Leninist view of religion as ‘the opium of the people’
The conference organizers decided to take a closer look at the broadly understood situation of Churches and religious associations in the European countries of the Eastern Bloc in 1945-1956
We will try to look for similarities and differences between their activities
and the situation of the followers of particular Churches
We are interested in how churches and religious associations found themselves in the realities of functioning in an extremely hostile political environment
in countries whose ideological assumption was to fight with every religion
The topics of the papers may relate to the following issues:
Miroslav Akmadža PhD (Croatian Institute of History
Josip Mihaljević PhD (Croatian Institute of History
professor (Department of History of Yugoslavia Faculty of Philosophy
Rafał Łatka associate profesor (Historical Research&nbsp;Office of the Institute of National Remembrance; University of Cardinal Stephan Wyszyński) 
associate professor (Historical Research&nbsp;Office of the Institute of National Remembrance; University of Mari Curie-Skłodowska w Lublinie;) 
PhD (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology
PhD-candidate (Office of the Committe of National Remembrance
PhD (Chairperson of the Committee of National Remembrance
Kristina Burinskaitė PhD (Genocide and resistance research centre of Lithuania
Eva Vybíralová PhD (Institute for the Study of the Totalitarian Regimes in Prague)
PhD (Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes)
Beáta Katrebová Blehová (Nationʼs Memory Institute in Bratislava) 
PhD (Nationʼs Memory Institute in Bratislava)
Bogusław Wójcik PhD (Historical Research&nbsp;Office of the Institute of National Remembrance
Florentina Budeancă PhD (National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives in Bucharest) 
Cosmin Budeancă PhD (The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile
PhD ("1 Decembrie 1918" University of Alba Iulia; The National Museum of the Union in Alba Iulia)&nbsp; 
PhD ("1 Decembrie 1918" University of Alba Iulia; The National Museum of the Union in Alba Iulia)&nbsp;
associate professor (Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice)
Round table: Situation of Churches and religious associations behind the „Iron Courtain” in 1945-1956
Mega Image has announced that starting today all of its 11 Red Market supermarkets have been rebranded into Mega Image units
The Red Market concept was launched in 2009 as a discount supermarket format
The change is expected to simplify operations related to advertising and merchandising
the stores’ product portfolio will increase by about 1,500 products with the focus being on a better representation of the retailer’s private labels
The 11 Red market supermarkets are located in Otopeni
Part of Belgian Delhaize Group, Mega Image has been present in Romania since 1995. At present it operates 96 supermarkets countrywide and it also owns the Shop&Go proximity store concept.<a target="_blank" href="https://myhive-offices.com/en/"></a>
during the International Scientific Conference and Exhibition "Healthcare
Education and Sports in the Era of Revival of the New Epoch of the Powerful State," a ceremony was held to sign bilateral documents in the fields of science and education between Turkmenistan and several foreign countries—Romania
The following six documents were signed during the ceremony:
A Memorandum of Understanding between the International University for the Humanities and Development and "1 Decembrie 1918" University of Alba Iulia was signed by Maral Kulieva
Rector of "1 December 1918" University of Alba Iulia (Romania)
&nbsp;Memorandum of Understanding between the Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan and Sungkyunkwan University was signed by Gurbanmyrat Mezilov
Vice President of Sungkyunkwan University (Republic of Korea)
Memorandum of Cooperation between the Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute named after S
Seydi and Gomel State University named after Francisk Skorina (Republic of Belarus) was signed by Gurbangeldi Mukhammedov
&nbsp;Memorandum of Cooperation between the Turkmen National Institute of World Languages named after D
Azadi and Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University (Russian Federation) was signed by Maksat Charyev
Agreement on Cooperation between the National Institute of Education of Turkmenistan and Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University was signed by Bayram Byashimov
Agreement on Cooperation between the Academy of State Service under the President of Turkmenistan and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration was signed by Kakageldi Hummaev
The signing of these bilateral documents marks another important step in developing and strengthening international cooperation in science
It also represents a new stage in large-scale activities aimed at achieving strategic goals in our country for training high-level specialists
and bringing it to the level of world standards
1 December in Indian and World History is celebrated
1 December is the birth anniversary of Kaka Kalelkar
1 December is also observed as the death anniversary of Shankar Trimbak Dharmadhikari
1 December in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Kaka Kalelkar (1 December 1885 – 21 August 1981)
He was in favor of the armed struggle for the liberation of the country
he devoted his entire life to the work of Gandhiji
Kalelkar also had good knowledge of the Gujarati language
he was also the editor of the Gujarati paper &#8216;Navjivan&#8216;
Raja Mahendra Pratap (1 December 1886 – 29 April 1979), was a true patriot, revolutionary, journalist, and social reformer. He was popularly known as &#8216;Aryan Peshwa&#8217;. He was born on <a href="https://observervoice.com/mahendra-pratap-singh-an-indian-freedom-fighter-4629/">1 December 1886 in Muresan</a>
Ananta Singh (1 December 1903 – 25 January 1969)
was one of the famous revolutionaries of India
He was skilled in making bombs and gun bullets among his fellow revolutionaries
Many of Ananta Singh&#8217;s associates were arrested by the police because of the &#8216;Chittagong incident&#8217;
He was born on 1 December 1903 in Chittagong
Major Shaitan Singh (1 December 1924 – 18 November 1962)
was an Indian person honored with the Param Vir Chakra
He received this honor posthumously in 1962
Read More: <a href="https://observervoice.com/30-november-in-indian-and-world-history-4594/">30 November in Indian and World History</a>
1 December in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Shankar Trimbak Dharmadhikari (18 June 1899 – 1 December 1985)
He was one of the active workers of &#8216;Gandhi Seva Sangh&#8217;
Dada Dharmadhikari devoted most of his time to the upliftment of Dalits and women
more than two dozen of his books were published
Vijayalakshmi Pandit (18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990)
Vijayalakshmi Pandit also made an important contribution to the independence of the country
She was imprisoned for his participation in the &#8216;Civil Disobedience Movement
Vijayalakshmi was an educated and enlightened woman and represented India in various conferences held abroad
She was the first woman minister in the political history of India
She was also the first Indian woman president of the United Nations
Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the first woman ambassador of independent India
Read More: <a href="https://observervoice.com/29-november-in-indian-and-world-history-4566/">29 November in Indian and World History</a>
1 December 1924 – <a href="https://observervoice.com/in-the-shadows-of-glory-major-shaitan-singhs-unforgettable-story-45900/">Shaitan Singh</a>
1 December 1933 &#8211; Air service between Kolkata and Dhaka was started
1 December 1955 &#8211; A black woman was arrested in the US state of Alabama after she refused to vacate her seat on a bus to a white man
1 December 1958 &#8211; Elizabeth Peratrovich, an American <a rel="nofollow" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights">civil rights</a> activist
1 December 1959 &#8211; 12 nations signed a treaty for the peaceful scientific use of Antarctica
1 December 1959 &#8211; The first color photo of Earth was taken from outer space
1 December 1963 &#8211; Nagaland became the 16th state of India
1 December 1965 &#8211; The Border Security Force (BSF) was established
the founder and first prime minister of Israel
1 December 1976 &#8211; Angola became a member of the United Nations
General Ziaur Rahman declared himself the President
1 December 1988 &#8211; The end of the Emergency in Pakistan and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan appointed Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister
1 December 1988 &#8211; The cyclone in Bangladesh killed 596 people
1 December 1991 &#8211; AIDS Awareness Day started
1 December 1992 &#8211; Diplomatic relations were established between South Korea and South Africa
1 December 1997 &#8211; Chechnya was declared a prohibited area for foreign nationals
1 December 2000 &#8211; The United Nations Security Council endorsed an arms embargo on the Taliban
1 December 2001 &#8211; Anti-Taliban tribesmen captured Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan
1 December 2002 &#8211; Australia won the Ashes Test series for the eighth time in a row over England
1 December 2006 Nepal adopted the new national anthem
which does not even have the name of the king
1 December 2007 &#8211; Elang Jie Lin of China was crowned Miss World at the Miss World pageant held in Sanya
December 1 holds significant historical importance for several reasons
One notable event is the founding of several nations and organizations
famously refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery
sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and becoming a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement
December 1 is observed globally as World AIDS Day
commemorating those who have died from the disease
and highlighting efforts to combat its spread
December 1 serves as a reminder of significant milestones in civil rights
World AIDS Day: 1 December is observed as <a href="https://observervoice.com/world-aids-day-and-its-significance-4624/">World AIDS Day every year to raise awareness and knowledge about HIV</a> and a call to move toward ending the HIV epidemic
The theme of World AIDS Day 2022 is “ “Rock the Ribbon”
BSF Raising Day: The Border Security Force (BSF) also observes their BSF Raising Day on 1 December. On 1 December 2022, BSF will observe its 58th BSF Raising Day. The BSF was established as a unified Central agency on 1 December 1965, after the wars with <a href="https://observervoice.com/bsf-raising-day-4649/">Pakistan and China in 1965 and 1962</a> respectively
Nagaland Statehood Day: The People of Nagaland observe Nagaland Statehood Day on 1 December
60th Nagaland Statehood Day will be observed
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!