Hungarian law against LGBTQ+ content 'violates human rights'

A Hungarian law banning content about LGBTQ+ people from schools and primetime TV has been found to violate basic human rights and freedom of expression by a senior legal scholar at the European court of justice.

- Jennifer Rankin

The non-binding opinion from the court's advocate general, Tamara Capeta, issued yesterday, represents a comprehensive demolition of the arguments made by the Hungarian government defending its so-called child protection law, passed in 2021.

The legislation, which has been likened to Russia's infamous "gay propaganda law", means that gay and transgender people or themes cannot feature in school educational material or any TV show, film or advert shown before 10pm.

In a resounding opinion, Capeta wrote that the law was not based on any scientific proof but a value judgment or - backing a position presented by the European parliament to the court - "a prejudice that homosexual and non-cisgender [transgender] life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgender life".

Far from protecting children from harm, she concluded, the legislation "expands such harm".