MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT 33 82. In the Government’s view, where public confidence in the democratic institutions was at stake, it was irrelevant whether there had been actual, proven cases of electoral fraud; the suspicion of such was enough to undermine the public’s trust in the democratic process. 83. On the other hand, the Government questioned the relevance of the MKKP’s conduct, pointing out that there had been no “societal need” for the electorate to share their votes in the form of photographs. This had been demonstrated by the fact that only 3,894 photos had been shared via the mobile application, while the number of invalid votes had been 224,668 out of a total of 3,643,055 ballots cast. 84. In any event, in the Government’s assessment, the measure in question had been proportionate to the aim pursued. They argued that the MKKP had been penalised not for taking a ballot photograph but for applying a campaign material encouraging thousands of voters to disregard the electoral rules. In addition, voters remained free to express their political opinions in any manner other than publishing a picture of their ballot papers. The MKKP itself was not restricted in campaigning for voters to cast invalid ballots by other means than calling on them to publish photographs of ballot papers. Furthermore, it had only been fined a small amount of money. C. The Court’s assessment 1. Existence of an interference 85. It is uncontested between the parties that the domestic authorities’ decisions interfered with the MKKP’s freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Convention. For the following reasons, the Court sees no grounds to hold otherwise. 86. The Court has held that the use of photographs in general serves important communication functions, as they impart information directly, and has on many occasions recognised that the right to freedom of expression includes the publication of photographs (see Von Hannover v. Germany (no. 2) [GC], nos. 40660/08 and 60641/08, § 103, ECHR 2012; see also Ashby Donald and Others v. France, no. 36769/08, § 34, 10 January 2013). For the Court, the posting of ballot photographs is a form of conduct that qualifies as the exercise of freedom of expression. 87. It is true that the MKKP was not the author of the photographs in issue; rather, it participated in their dissemination by providing a mobile application for their publication. In its case-law the Court has established that Article 10 applies not only to the content of information but also to the means of dissemination, since any restriction imposed on the latter necessarily interferes with the right to receive and impart information (see, inter alia, Ahmet Yıldırım v. Turkey, no. 3111/10, § 50, ECHR 2012). In respect of the printed media, the Court has found that publishers, who do