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Hungary’s parliament approved amendments to a controversial child protection statute on Tuesday, stripping out provisions that had restricted access to information on homosexuality and gender identity for minors, according to dpa international. The changes replace the previous ban on the portrayal or promotion of such topics with broader safeguards against pornography, sexual exploitation and content deemed harmful to a child’s development. Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s Tisza party, which holds a two-thirds majority after its April election victory, backed the measure while Orbán’s Fidesz opposed it. Magyar has presented the revision as a way to align with European Union standards without framing it as an expansion of LGBTQ rights.
The 2021 law, introduced under Orbán, had required books addressing LGBTQ themes to be sold in opaque black wrapping and was widely criticised for equating homosexuality with paedophilia, AFP reported. Critics argued the statute stigmatised sexual and gender minorities while claiming to protect children from abuse. A European Court of Justice ruling in April determined that the provisions violated core EU values including pluralism and non-discrimination. The judgment, which described the law as contrary to the bloc’s identity, set the stage for the legislative adjustment now underway.[[1]](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/21/eu-court-ecj-hungary-anti-gay-lgbtq-law)
Tamas Dombos of the Hungarian LGBTQ rights group Hatter Society told AFP that removal of the restrictions represented an important positive step, even as he noted that much work remains. Same-sex couples still cannot adopt children and transgender individuals have no pathway to legal gender recognition following a 2020 ban, according to rights monitors. Budapest police this year permitted the annual Pride march after earlier using the statute to block such events. Dombos cautioned that the amended law alone would not resolve deeper inequalities embedded in Hungarian legislation.
Orbán’s Fidesz lawmakers voted against the amendment, accusing Magyar’s government of weakening child safeguards to satisfy EU pressure, multiple outlets including the Hurriyet Daily News reported. The former prime minister’s party lost its parliamentary majority in the April ballot that ended 16 years of continuous rule. Magyar’s administration has moved quickly to address EU concerns over rule-of-law issues that had strained Brussels-Budapest ties during the Orbán era. The vote comes as Hungary seeks to improve its standing within the bloc after years of friction over democratic backsliding.
Data from ILGA-Europe has consistently placed Hungary near the bottom of its annual Rainbow Index measuring LGBTQ rights observance across the continent, a ranking shaped in part by the now-amended statute and related restrictions. The original law also influenced media regulations, limiting depictions of sexual and gender diversity in programming accessible to those under 18. Rights advocates have welcomed the parliamentary action as an early signal of policy recalibration under the new government. Further reforms, including potential changes to adoption rules, could follow if the administration sustains its current trajectory.
The European Court of Justice decision in spring had immediate implications beyond Hungary, establishing a precedent for reviewing national laws against the union’s fundamental values, The Guardian noted. In response, Magyar’s government moved to excise the offending clauses while preserving language intended to shield minors from exploitative material. Parliament’s swift approval on Tuesday reflects the governing majority’s ability to act without opposition support. Observers will watch whether additional Orbán-era measures face similar scrutiny in coming months.
