Liberties, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, and Access Now ask the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) in an open letter to analyse the Hungarian government’s decree suspending several articles of the data protection rules of the GDPR. We recommend that the EDPD ask the EU Commission to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary.

Why?

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s enabling law allowed the decree to be passed without parliamentary debate or vote. Removing citizens’ rights without oversight from MPs or a transparent public debate is undemocratic and against the rule of law. The limitation of data protection is unjustified and disproportionate. Our fundamental rights are essential in emergencies such as the Covid19 pandemic. Privacy and health are not competing but protect us hand in hand.

Read the full letter here.