Hungary votes to lift restrictions on LGBTQ content

Hungary’s parliament has voted to remove restrictions on LGBTQ content from its 2021 child protection law, reversing measures that limited how gay and transgender people could be represented in material accessible to children. The amendments passed on 13 October by 139 votes to 51.

Adopted under former prime minister Viktor Orbán, the restrictions affected schools, television and other public settings. The amended law instead focuses on protecting under-18s from material that could seriously harm their development, rather than singling out sexual orientation or gender identity.

The vote follows an April ruling by the European Union’s top court that the earlier law discriminated against LGBTQ people and violated the bloc’s values. Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s governing Tisza party used its parliamentary majority to pass the changes.

Tamás Dombos of the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, welcomed the decision after five years of campaigning against the law. He described an improvement on a period when his community felt constantly targeted.

Campaigners also stressed that the work is unfinished. Restrictions on legal recognition for transgender people and adoption by same-sex couples remain, alongside discriminatory provisions in Hungary’s constitution. The vote removes a significant set of barriers, but does not establish full equality.