The Media Council of the National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) deemed Hír FM’s call program a violation. The board also examined the program offerings of two broadcast providers, and turned to partner authorities with the findings.
NMHH’s Department of Communications announced Thursday that the Media Council has launched an action based on a public report regarding statements made on Paláver’s February 25 episode of Hír FM (formerly: Karc FM) radio show.
During the formal procedure, the board found the broadcaster’s and callers’ statements appropriate to amplify stereotypes about gay people and inflame hatred towards them, and thus, with the programme, the media provider violated the legal requirement prohibiting the publication of media content suitable for exclusion.
The media council therefore ordered Hír FM’s service provider to pay a fine of 200,000 forints, and the infringement announcement must be read on Hír FM’s broadcast and posted on the homepage of the TV station’s website.
They went on to say that four reports contested certain scenes of the animated film Nimona available through the streaming service provider Netflix (official name: On-Demand Audiovisual Media Service) under Dutch jurisdiction.
Animated work produced in 2023 has been rated “10+”, meaning that it is not recommended for children under the age of 10, by the media service provider. Based on the official examination, the program featuring unusual elements compared to fairy tale films was classified as belonging to an age group not recommended for children under the age of twelve according to Hungarian regulations.
According to the NMHH announcement, further concerns were raised by the fact that although according to current regulations, streaming service providers must display the age rating in a clearly visible manner on their interface containing the show’s viewing, this has not been done on the Netflix user interface.
They added that the media council would inform the joint Dutch authority of the violations and request that the necessary measures be taken. The Media Council also examined films available on the Amazon Prime video streaming service: The Night of Sin, The Witch, Jason Bourne, Assassin’s Creed, Shattered, and The Night of Purification: Anarchy, and the investigation revealed that the age ratings used by the service provider did not comply with the galactic rules.
The films The Witch and The Night of Purification: Anarchy are available with the designation “16+”, but according to Hungarian regulations they must be classified as not recommended for persons under the age of eighteen, while the works titled The Night of Crime, Jason Bourne and Assassin’s Creed and Broken are listed as “13+”, while the Hungarian rating of these programs is not recommended for those under six.
The Amazon Prime Video provider is a company registered in Germany, so the Media Council will notify the partner’s German jurisdictional authority of any violations and request necessary action.
As reported in May, the board has also requested action from the Netherlands Media Authority in connection with the “Permission to Deviate” program that was broadcast on Viasat 6 on April 9 at 9pm. The joint panel found that the age rating of the film not recommended for children under the age of six was indeed incorrect, and it should have been shown as not recommended for children under the age of twelve.
The Joint Dutch Authority also came to the same conclusion as the Media Council’s investigation regarding the three episodes of the Lármás family series shown on Nick Toons, reported by the Media Council in June.
The said segments were broadcast without specifying the age. The Dutch authorities confirmed the Hungarian position that the programs contained frightening scenes, and therefore the service provider had to display a banner not recommended for children under the age of six, the advertisement said.
(MTI)
