The European Court of Justice has ruled that Hungarian legislation banning the availability of LGBTQ+ content to minors violates European Union law and breaches Article 2 of the bloc’s foundational treaty. The court found that the 2021 law, which prohibits the display of content depicting homosexuality or gender change to minors in schools and on primetime TV, stigmatizes and marginalizes gay and trans people. This marks the first time a member state has been found in violation of the EU’s fundamental values charter, which guarantees respect for human dignity, equality, and human rights.
The nationalist-populist government of Viktor Orbán argued that the policies sought to protect children from sexual propaganda. However, the court determined the legislation was discriminatory and contrary to the identity of the union, violating rules on freedom of expression, data protection, and services in the EU’s internal market. Critics of the law compared the measures to Russia’s 2013 gay propaganda law and argued that the legislation conflated homosexuality with pedophilia.
These legal restrictions included a ban on the popular Budapest Pride event, though over 100,000 people participated in a march last year in defiance of the government. The court concluded that Hungary had acted in breach of EU law on a number of separate levels and infringed upon the fundamental values on which the union is founded.
The ruling serves as an early test for incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who led the center-right Tisza party to a landslide victory on April 12, ending Orbán’s 16 years in power. Magyar is expected to take office in mid-May and has pledged to pursue a more constructive relationship with the EU. In his victory speech, Magyar stated that Hungary would become a country where no one is stigmatized for loving someone differently than the majority.