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Hungary's parliament voted on October 13 to remove provisions of a 2021 child protection law that restricted the portrayal of homosexuality and transgenderism to minors, passing the amendment 139 votes to 51. It is the first substantial rollback of curbs on sexual minorities since Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office in May, succeeding Viktor Orbán.
The original law barred the "portrayal or promotion of homosexuality or transgenderism" to people under 18. Under the amendment, that specific prohibition is dropped and replaced with a general requirement to shield minors from material that could seriously impair their physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development. Magyar's government, whose proposal was tabled in September, said the changes strengthen child protection "regardless of sexual orientation" and bring Hungary into line with EU requirements. The Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority in parliament.
European Commissioners Michael McGrath and Hadja Lahbib described the vote as an important signal of commitment to common European values. Tamás Dombos of the civil rights group Háttér Society welcomed the move but said other discriminatory provisions remain. Human Rights Watch noted that section 5/A of the Family Protection Act still contains similar restrictions on content accessible to children. Mi Hazánk, a smaller opposition party, objected to the new rules, as did one of its lawmakers, who criticised the changes during the vote.
The vote follows a April 2026 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which found the provisions incompatible with EU law. Since 2020, Orbán's government had gradually curbed LGBTQ rights in the name of child protection, beginning with a bar on legal recognition of transgender people's gender identity. Read in that context, the amendment marks a policy shift made under EU legal pressure, though its scope is limited: it removes specific clauses targeting sexual-minority content rather than dismantling the broader framework. Analysts note that further legal protections will depend on subsequent decisions by the government and parliament.
Lucas Bakke, Europe Desk
Sources: Euronews (October 13, 2026); Georgia Today (October 15, 2026); Economx (October 13, 2026); Brussels Signal (October 2026)
Reference links: Euronews; Georgia Today