The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Hungary's 2021 law restricting the portrayal of LGBT content is unlawful, holding that the legislation violates EU rules on freedom to provide services, non-discrimination and the fundamental rights of minors and broadcasters.

The Grand Chamber delivered the judgment on 14 March 2025 in Case C-769/22, brought by the Bulgarian anti-discrimination body, Komisia za zashtita ot diskriminatsia, after Hungarian authorities fined a Bulgarian broadcaster, bTV, for airing content that fell within the law's scope.

What did the court decide?

The 2021 Hungarian statute — presented by Budapest as a child-protection measure — bans content "promoting or portraying" homosexuality or gender reassignment to minors and restricts its broadcast to late-night slots.

The Court found that the law constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. It held that Hungary failed to show that the measure was appropriate or necessary to protect children, and that less restrictive means were available to pursue that aim.

The judges also ruled the law breaches the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the free movement of services, because it applies to broadcasters established in other member states that transmit into Hungary.

What does the ruling change for practitioners?

For media and telecommunications lawyers, the judgment confirms that national content restrictions targeting sexual orientation cannot be justified by child-protection objectives without concrete evidence of necessity and proportionality. Regulators in member states that fine cross-border broadcasters under such laws now face direct conflict with EU law, and the decision opens a route for businesses and individuals to challenge analogous measures before national courts. For Budapest, the ruling adds to a growing body of adverse CJEU and European Court of Human Rights judgments against Hungarian legislation, with potential financial consequences if the European Commission purses infringement proceedings and daily penalty payments.

Human Rights Watch, reporting the decision, characterised the ruling as a definitive legal rejection of the Hungarian law at the EU's highest court.

The Hungarian government has not yet indicated whether it will amend or repeal the legislation.