The Minister of Justice of Hungary announced that consumer protection checks will begin this year to protect the Hungarian language. In advertisements published/broadcast in media products, and on radio and television programmes in Hungarian, the foreign language text must – with few exceptions (e.g., name of a company or trademark) – also appear in Hungarian. The Consumer Protection Authority, as part of the 2023 monitoring programme, will check if this obligation is respected.
This is nothing new, since according to Act No. XCVI of 2001 on the Publishing of Commercial Advertisements, Shop Signs and Some Public Announcements in the Hungarian Language, texts of advertisements and slogans published in Hungarian newspapers and magazines, or broadcast on Hungarian-language radio and television programmes, or public advertising media must appear either in Hungarian or both in Hungarian as well as in a foreign language. If the Hungarian translation is provided next to a foreign language text, it must be visualized in the same size on the given surface and the visibility of the two versions must be the same as well. If these rules for the usage of the Hungarian wording are not followed, the consumer protection authority may order termination of the unlawful status, prohibit further continuation of the unlawful activities, require remedy of the infringement by a set deadline or impose a penalty.