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Hungarian parliament is scheduled to vote Tuesday on legislation submitted in September that would remove anti-LGBTQ provisions from the 2021 child protection law enacted under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The bill eliminates restrictions on the portrayal or promotion of homosexuality and gender diversity in content accessible to children across child protection, media, advertising and education statutes. According to Reuters, it replaces those targeted rules with a broader prohibition on material that can seriously impair a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development regardless of sexual orientation.
The 2021 law had barred display and promotion of such topics to under-18s, drawing condemnation from rights groups and the European Union for conflating homosexuality with pedophilia and stigmatizing the LGBTQ community. Prime Minister Peter Magyar, whose Tisza party secured a two-thirds majority after defeating Orban in April elections that ended 16 years of nationalist rule, has described the changes as essential to restoring EU compliance. Magyar’s government took office in May promising reforms to democratic standards and minority rights.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in April that the Orban-era law violated EU fundamental rights by contributing to the stigmatization and marginalization of LGBTQ people. A Human Rights Watch assessment found that while the proposed bill removes discriminatory language from several statutes, it leaves unchanged section 5/A of the Family Protection Act containing similar content restrictions for minors. The group welcomed the step but urged additional measures to address remaining barriers.
Orban had defended the original legislation as a means to protect children from inappropriate influences, yet it was also invoked to prohibit Pride marches until this year’s events were authorized after the EU court decision. The new rules are expected to pass easily given Magyar’s parliamentary majority, as reported by multiple outlets covering the session that opened at 9:40 a.m. local time. Justice Minister Marta Gorog signaled the need for revisions as early as May to implement the EU judgment.
Hungary’s shift follows years of tension with Brussels over democratic backsliding, with billions in EU funds previously frozen partly due to the child protection measures. Magyar has also indicated potential further adjustments, including to a 2020 adoption law that effectively barred same-sex couples. Such moves form part of a wider reset in relations with European partners.
LGBTQ advocates have called the parliamentary vote an important initial reversal but stressed that other Orban-introduced restrictions persist, including a 2020 ban on legal gender recognition based on biological criteria at birth. A petition by the country’s largest LGBT organization seeking a transparent procedure for document changes has surpassed 2,800 signatures toward a 3,333 target. The Council of Europe has repeatedly pressed Hungarian authorities to establish a compliant framework for transgender rights.
