1. General information

Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Mr Dr. András Jóri (Parliament of the Republic of Hungary elected him in 2008; since 2000 he has been a member of the legal advisory board of the Council of Hungarian Internet Providers; he is also member of the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party)[1]

Relevant national legislations[2]

1. Act XX of 1949 the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary (Article 32/B; Article 59, Article 61),
   
2. Act LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Disclosure of Information of Public Interest,
   
3. Act IV of 1978 on the Criminal Code,
   
4. Act XLVII of 1997 on the Handling of Medical and Other Related Data,
   
5. Act LXVI of 1992 on the Name and Address Records of Citizens (“the Records Act”),
   
6. Act LXV of 1995 on State Secret and Service Secret,
   
7. Act LXVI of 1995 on Public Records, Public Archives, and the Protection of Private Archives,
   
8. Act XC of 2005 on the Freedom of Information by Electronic Means.

2. Street Views
2.1. Google’s Street View in Hungary/Budapest

Google got in touch with Mr András Jóri (hereafter: Mr Jóri) in summer 2008[3]. On May 4, 2009 Google Street View cars (Opel Astra with German number plates)[4] arrived at Budapest and started taking down pictures without asking the opinion of Mr Jóri.[5] However, Mr Jóri has had qualms about the legality of the Google Street View (hereafter: GSV) because of the relevant Hungarian legal provisions on data protection.[6] Residents have also lodged complaints against the GSV.[7] After discussing with Mr Jóri Google suspended taking photographs in Budapest in summer 2009.[8]

On June 2, 2010 Mr Jóri enquired information about the taken pictures and collected data in Hungary from the Hungarian representatives of Google. The official letter is available in English on the website of the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.[9] Google is requested to reply until 17 o’clock on June 13, 2010. However, Google may postpone this deadline.


2.2. Norc’s Street View

Norc: “eXtreme Soft Group S.R.L provides the first "street-level imaging" service for Eastern and Central Europe – the NORC Service for the online environment.
Though the group of websites … Norc is the first "Made in Romania" web service allowing its visitors to have virtual walks through cities in Central and Eastern Europe. It is using a navigation system switching through panoramic images taken in the street, a system also called "street-view" or "street-level imaging".” [10]
Cars: Dacia with Romanian number plates.[11]
Used cameras: ten reflex cameras (Canon EOS 400D) with 11-18 mm object lens.[12]
Used computer: P4 computer with 1 GB memory, Windows XP.[13]
Coverage: Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Russia and Romania.

The cars of Norc started taking pictures in the middle of April 2009 in Budapest. (Some weeks before the arrival of Google’s cars). Approximately in one week its cars took pictures about 70-80 % of Budapest.[14] They uncover the faces and the number plates. The company places the pictures taken in Budapest on the maps of Google.[15] However, they also use other maps, like the Open Street Maps.[16] The Norc has also taken pictures about other important Hungarian cities.[17]

(Das LAWgical-Team dankt Edina Márton, Ungarn, für ihren Gastbeitrag)