After 100,000 Hungarians took to the street in opposition to a per-megabyte tax on their Internet usage, the autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban (whose election was characterized by outside observers as "free but not fair") was forced into a rare climbdown.
However, Orban's announcement has lots of wiggle-room in it: "This tax in its current form cannot be introduce." Right — so what form will it be introduced in?
Speaking on Kossuth public radio, Mr Orban said that "if the people not only dislike something but also consider it unreasonable then it should not be done…
"The tax code should be modified. This must be withdrawn, and we do not have to deal with this now."
He said a measure seen by the government as a technical issue had become "a fear-inducing vision".
There will be a national consultation on it in January, he said.
Hungary internet tax cancelled after mass protests [BBC]
(via Hacker News)
(Image: András D. Hajdú)
