Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority in Hungary since January 1, 2012

" Significant development in the Hungarian public administration for the protection of citizens has been achieved by setting up a Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (in Hungarian: Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság). This authority keeps the functions of the previous data protection ombudsman. Having a broader authority in case of abuse of personal data, fines of up to 10 million HUF might be imposed even repeatedly. Attila Péterfalvi, an earlier ombudsman has been appointed by the State President as head of Hungary’s National Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority for nine years. The independence of the new authority is ensured by legal guarantees and the length of his term spans government cycles. The website of the authority will open under www.NAIH.hu in January. Another important development is the new Act No. CXII of 2011 on Information Rights and the Freedom of Information,  which replaced the former Act No. LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Publication of Data of Public Interest by 1 January 2012. LAPSI Consortium member HUNAGI has the intention to invite NAIH Head Dr. Péterfalvi to the LAPSI internal Thematic Seminar and the Data Session of HUNAGI 3rd Conference devoted to Mobile GIS scheduled for 22-23 March, 2012 in Budapest." The above text was compiled from sources of internet and the Hungarian public service broadcast MR1. It was submitted to LAPSI project manager Dr.Cristiana Sappa earlier today in order to be published on the LAPSI and EVPSI websites. LAPSI is for The European Thematic Network on Legal Aspects of Public Sector Information.  EVPSI is for Extracting Value from Public Sector Information: Legal Framework and Regional Policies.