Holding Computers Aloft, Thousands March in Budapest Against Anti-Democratic Internet Tax

COMMON DREAMS: …Demonstrators gave the Hungarian government 48 hours to scrap the planned tax of 62 cents per gigabyte of data, which they see as an attempt by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to restrict freedom of information.

The protesters held their cell phones in the air, calling for ‘Free Internet!’ and ‘Free Hungary!’ Some threw old computer equipment against the locked gates of the ruling Fidesz party’s headquarters. Organizers vowed to protest again on Tuesday if their demands were not met.

Orban, who took office in 2010 and was re-elected in April, “has been accused of flirting with authoritarianism,” according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Organizers told AFP they believe the tax is aimed at restricting government critics who mainly use online media, and that it would “hurt small businesses and make it harder for people, particularly in poor areas, to access information and educational material… (more)

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