Hungarian lawmakers have rewritten the 2021 C.E. child protection law so it no longer bars the portrayal or promotion of sexual and gender diversity to minors. The vote was 139 to 51 on Oct. 13, Euronews reported. The ban on LGBTQ+ content, passed under Viktor Orbán, is the first major Orbán-era curb reversed under Prime Minister Péter Magyar.
At a glance
- Vote: Parliament passed the amendment 139 to 51. Magyar’s Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority and passed it without opposition votes.
- New standard: Content for under-18s is now judged by whether it could “seriously impair the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development.”
- Still in place: Rights groups say limits on legal gender recognition, same-sex adoption and public assembly remain.
What the repeal of the ban on LGBTQ+ content changes
The 2021 C.E. law was presented as a child protection measure. It also banned the “portrayal” or “promotion” of homosexuality and gender transition to under-18s, Euronews reported.
The amended law drops that language. It now covers content that could harm a child’s development, without naming sexual or gender diversity.
Magyar framed the change as stronger child protection “regardless of sexual orientation,” not as a restoration of rights. He did not raise LGBTQ+ rights in his election campaign, Euronews reported.
Why Hungary changed course
On April 21, the EU’s Court of Justice ruled against the 2021 C.E. law, the Law Society Gazette reported. It was the first time the court found a member state in breach of Article 2 of the EU treaty, which sets out the bloc’s founding values.
Magyar said the changes bring Hungarian law into line with EU rules, Euronews reported. EU Commissioners Michael McGrath and Hadja Lahbib called the vote an “important signal” of shared values.
Orbán’s Fidesz party voted against. It accused the government of “neutering” the original law under EU pressure.
What remains in place
Rights groups welcomed the vote but called it a first step. Tamás Dombos of the Háttér Society told AFP it was “an important and positive step forward,” Hromadske reported.
Hungary still limits legal gender recognition for transgender people and adoption by same-sex couples, Euronews reported. Human Rights Watch says the constitution’s discriminatory language and the Freedom of Assembly Act were left untouched.
Euronews reported that a 2025 C.E. amendment made the child protection law a basis for banning Pride marches. Its report did not say whether that ban has been lifted.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to “finish what it started,” Worthy News reported. Several rights groups, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary, asked Prime Minister Magyar to remove the remaining restrictions.
What comes next
On Sept. 13, Magyar said his government will change adoption rules for single people and same-sex couples, Euronews reported. Drafting is under way, but the report gave no details or timeline.
Dombos said that restoring even the pre-2020 C.E. legal status would take changes to many more laws. He does not know whether the government is working on them, Euronews reported.
The EU court ruling told Hungary to comply without delay. If it does not, the European Commission can seek financial penalties, the Law Society Gazette reported.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Euronews and Court of Justice of the EU, Case C-769/22
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