Broadband Cable and Internet Providers as Tools of Censorship in Hungary and Serbia

Restricting the free flow of information is not a new strategy for authoritarian governments. However, how most authoritarian governments interfere with access to information today is different. Therefore, new conceptualisations for analysing these strategies are necessary. Today, instead of abruptly changing the system, most autocratic governments slowly chip away at institutions maintaining democracy. For this reason, this paper will explore how the authorities in Hungary and Serbia upset the free flow of information using a combination of tools that, on the surface, could look like pluralism or regular market supply and demand. Cases like Hungary and Serbia are particularly illustrative of the third wave of autocratisation, where regime changes to autocracy follow the pattern of slow erosions instead of sudden departures from democracy. According to most democratic indexes, both countries ceased being democracies toward the end of the last decade through a gradual decline, and both governments have recently achieved market domination in the communications sector, especially within internet infrastructure. Moreover, both governments are, to varying degrees, normatively tied to the European Union, which significantly influences what tactics are used to disrupt information flow. This paper will explore the similarities and differences in tactics used by the two governments to achieve dominance as communications service providers while reflecting on why combinations of specific tools are chosen in favour of others.