MAGYAR JETI ZRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT 21 the Convention, in the particular situation where in an online article it included a hyperlink leading to content, available on the Internet, which was later held to be defamatory. The domestic courts found that the posting of such a hyperlink automatically qualified as the publication of the defamatory statement, which finding entailed the objective liability of the journalist and the news portal run by the applicant company. The question before the Court is therefore whether the ensuing interference with the applicant company’s rights under Article 10 of the Convention was, in the particular circumstances, based on relevant and sufficient reasons and consequently necessary in a democratic society. 70. The Court observes that the Internet news portal in question is professionally run, publishes some seventy-five articles on a wide range of topics every day, and attracts a daily readership of about 250,000. 71. The Court notes that the practice of the domestic courts exempted publishers from civil liability for reproduction of statements made at press conferences, provided that they reported on a matter of public interest in an unbiased and objective manner, distinguished themselves from the source of the statement and gave an opportunity to the person concerned to comment on the statement (see paragraph 21 above). However, no such immunity existed for the dissemination of false or defamatory information falling outside the scope of press conferences, where the standard of objective liability applied, irrespective of the question of whether the author or publisher acted in good or bad faith and in compliance with their journalistic duties and obligations. 72. The Court reiterates that it has previously noted with approval that the differentiation as regards third-party content between an Internet news portal operator and a traditional publisher was in line with the international instruments in this field, which manifested a certain development in favour of distinguishing between the legal principles regulating the activities of the traditional print and audiovisual media on the one hand and Internet-based media operations on the other (see Delfi AS, cited above, §§ 112-13). 73. Furthermore, bearing in mind the role of the Internet in enhancing the public’s access to news and information, the Court points out that the very purpose of hyperlinks is, by directing to other pages and web resources, to allow Internet users to navigate to and from material in a network characterised by the availability of an immense amount of information. Hyperlinks contribute to the smooth operation of the Internet by making information accessible through linking it to each other. 74. Hyperlinks, as a technique of reporting, are essentially different from traditional acts of publication in that, as a general rule, they merely direct users to content available elsewhere on the Internet. They do not present the linked statements to the audience or communicate its content, but only serve to call readers’ attention to the existence of material on another website. 75. A further distinguishing feature of hyperlinks, compared to acts of dissemination of information, is that the person referring to information through a hyperlink does not exercise control over the content of the website to which a hyperlink enables access, and which might be changed after the