Being born and raised in Hungary, I was introduced to the dos and donts of Hungarian politics at a very young age. Prime Minister Viktor Orban managed to use these ideas to once again win a two thirds majority in this year’s elections. Ever since, he has been on a mission to implement his conservative ideas and policies, some of which the western media has deemed to be unjust and illiberal. However, after imposing the world’s first internet tax a few weeks ago, he met significant resistance in the form of tens of thousands of protesters on the streets of Budapest. Even conservative voters understood the effect this tax would have on people’s access to information, and the detrimental result it would have on the country’s fragile economy. As social media and e-commerce continue to spread around the world, Hungarians would be forced to revert to prior methods of communication and trade which are far less efficient. This would hurt the expanding sectors of Hungary’s economy which would cause the country to fall even further behind its neighbors in measures such as GDP per capita and OECD happiness measures. Many argue that Mr. Orban’s government is purposefully attempting to restrict people’s access to the internet to allow him to impose further measures that he sees fit. Whether or not this is true, all educated members of Hungarian society agree that it is unreasonable to impose a tax on the internet in the country’s current condition.

Hungary’s Internet Tax, The Economist

Taxing the Internet is a Bad Idea, Forbes