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| Proposed Internet Tax Draws Hungarians to Streets in Protest | Proposed Internet Tax Draws Hungarians to Streets in Protest |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WARSAW — Hungary’s leadership is under pressure to drop plans to tax Internet use, a move seen as a way to cut off public debate by limiting information not controlled by the rightist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. | WARSAW — Hungary’s leadership is under pressure to drop plans to tax Internet use, a move seen as a way to cut off public debate by limiting information not controlled by the rightist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. |
| Tens of thousands of Hungarians gathered in the streets of Budapest this week to protest the plan. | Tens of thousands of Hungarians gathered in the streets of Budapest this week to protest the plan. |
| “This is limiting free access to the Internet and information,” said Balazs Gulyas, 27, a former member of the Hungarian Socialist Party who set up a Facebook page last week that inspired the protests. “It is an attempt to create a digital iron curtain around Hungary.” | “This is limiting free access to the Internet and information,” said Balazs Gulyas, 27, a former member of the Hungarian Socialist Party who set up a Facebook page last week that inspired the protests. “It is an attempt to create a digital iron curtain around Hungary.” |
| Mr. Gulyas’s page had attracted more than 230,000 followers by Wednesday afternoon, a day after a large demonstration in the capital, giving it more followers than Hungary’s governing party, Fidesz. | |
| The government denies the tax was devised to inhibit access to information, saying it is an extension of an existing tax on telephones that is being put in effect because a growing share of communication has moved online. | |
| Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, described the protests as an attempt by the country’s splintered opposition to organize around a movement that it pretended was nonpartisan. Mr. Gulyas, he said, is “but one of the many political activists who try to camouflage a political movement as civilian.” | Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, described the protests as an attempt by the country’s splintered opposition to organize around a movement that it pretended was nonpartisan. Mr. Gulyas, he said, is “but one of the many political activists who try to camouflage a political movement as civilian.” |
| Mr. Gulyas responded, “I have created the Facebook page and the event entirely of my own initiative.” | |
| Mr. Orban won a second consecutive term in April when his Fidesz party and a small conservative ally won a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which effectively allows it to pass whatever laws it wants. It has come under increasing criticism at home and from many Western governments, including in Washington, for its authoritarian impulses. | Mr. Orban won a second consecutive term in April when his Fidesz party and a small conservative ally won a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which effectively allows it to pass whatever laws it wants. It has come under increasing criticism at home and from many Western governments, including in Washington, for its authoritarian impulses. |
| Earlier this month, the United States Embassy in Budapest said it would deny visas to six Hungarian officials in response to “credible evidence” that they were involved in attempts to elicit bribes from American companies. | Earlier this month, the United States Embassy in Budapest said it would deny visas to six Hungarian officials in response to “credible evidence” that they were involved in attempts to elicit bribes from American companies. |
| The appearance on Sunday of M. André Goodfriend, the chargé d’affaires at the United States Embassy in Budapest, at a protest against the bill inspired a heated exchange on Twitter between him and Mr. Kovacs. | The appearance on Sunday of M. André Goodfriend, the chargé d’affaires at the United States Embassy in Budapest, at a protest against the bill inspired a heated exchange on Twitter between him and Mr. Kovacs. |
| “Checkin’ the mood, André?!” Mr. Kovacs asked in a post on the social network, asking why the diplomat had attended a demonstration organized by “liberals” and the Socialist Party. “As Chargés d’Affaires? Interesting. Eh?” | |
| From his Twitter account, Mr. Goodfriend said: “When I want to influence, I speak. Otherwise, I’m listening. Sometimes, there’s not enough listening.” | From his Twitter account, Mr. Goodfriend said: “When I want to influence, I speak. Otherwise, I’m listening. Sometimes, there’s not enough listening.” |
| On Wednesday, Mr. Kovacs tried to play down any acrimony with the United States. “We believe that it’s a mutual interest to sort out the problems we are encountering,” he said. | On Wednesday, Mr. Kovacs tried to play down any acrimony with the United States. “We believe that it’s a mutual interest to sort out the problems we are encountering,” he said. |
| Under the bill proposed by the government last week, which followed tax increases in banking, energy and other economic sectors, data traffic would be taxed at the rate of 150 Hungarian forint, or about 62 cents, per gigabyte. | Under the bill proposed by the government last week, which followed tax increases in banking, energy and other economic sectors, data traffic would be taxed at the rate of 150 Hungarian forint, or about 62 cents, per gigabyte. |
| After an initial protest on Sunday that drew about 10,000 people, the government said it would alter the proposal to cap the tax at 700 forint a month. The ceiling would apply to each Internet subscription, whether on computers, mobile devices or cable services. | After an initial protest on Sunday that drew about 10,000 people, the government said it would alter the proposal to cap the tax at 700 forint a month. The ceiling would apply to each Internet subscription, whether on computers, mobile devices or cable services. |
| Government officials say the tax would be levied on Internet providers, not customers. Their critics, however, say it is inevitable that any taxes would be passed on to consumers. | Government officials say the tax would be levied on Internet providers, not customers. Their critics, however, say it is inevitable that any taxes would be passed on to consumers. |
| None of the back-and-forth appeased the demonstrators, who turned out in much larger numbers on Tuesday and in a growing number of cities. | None of the back-and-forth appeased the demonstrators, who turned out in much larger numbers on Tuesday and in a growing number of cities. |
| “A lot of people feel that the Internet has been a sort of refuge,” Mr. Gulyas said, “and now the government is interfering with that.” | “A lot of people feel that the Internet has been a sort of refuge,” Mr. Gulyas said, “and now the government is interfering with that.” |