Hungary’s crazy-expensive Internet is driving people to throw their computers into the street

We might want to prepare ourselves for something new: protests over the price of a gigabyte, like we're seeing in Hungary, where thousands have marched through downtown Budapest to protest a proposed tax on Internet use and have even taken to throwing old computers at government buildings.

The Internet tax is part of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's 2015 budget proposal, and it would add a surcharge of 150 forints -- about 60 cents -- to the cost of every gigabyte uploaded and downloaded in Hungary. Orbán, head of the conservative Fidesz Party, has tried selling the tax as a reasonable one. It will, his government has pointed out, be charged not directly to end users but to Internet service providers. And those companies, the government has pointed out, are highly profitable. The tax follows along the lines of an existing, less-controversial tariff on telephone services. And the Orbán government is playing up the idea that the accumulated funds, which would add up to billions of forints, could go to building out broadband access in rural Hungary. Already, after initial protests this week, the Orbán government began what one European Commission spokesperson called "polishing it a bit," adding a monthly cap on the proposed tax that is rumored to be 1,000 forints ($4 US).