MAGYAR JETI ZRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT
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32. On 26 July 2012 the United States Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit held in Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC (No. 11-3257, 2012 U.S.
App. LEXIS 15419 (3d Cir. July 26, 2012) (precedential)) “that providing a
link on a website to an allegedly defamatory article [was] not republication
for purposes of the single publication rule or the statute of limitations”.
Rather, the court found that the principles of traditional publication,
according to which a mere reference to an article did not republish the
material, as long as it did not restate the defamatory statement, were also
applicable to Internet publication. It held that “[t]aken together, though a
link and reference m[ight] bring readers’ attention to the existence of an
article, they d[id] not republish the article”.
THE LAW
I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 10 OF THE CONVENTION
33. The applicant company complained that the rulings of the Hungarian
courts establishing objective liability on the part of its Internet news portal
for the content it had referred to via a hyperlink had amounted to an
infringement of freedom of expression as provided in Article 10 of the
Convention, which reads as follows:
“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without
interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not
prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema
enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities,
may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are
prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of
national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or
crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or
rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence,
or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
A. Admissibility
34. The Government argued that the applicant company had failed to
exhaust domestic remedies since it had not challenged the final judgment
before the Constitutional Court.
35. The applicant company argued that it had exhausted all available
remedies.
36. The Court notes that on 15 January 2018 the applicant company’s
representative submitted to it the Constitutional Court’s decision of
19 December 2017 (no. 3002/2018.(I.10.)AB) (see paragraph 20 above).
The Court is therefore satisfied that the applicant company has in fact