Hungary’s parliament has approved a grand child protection bill, including measures addressing children left in hospitals and access to harmful sexual content. Prime Minister Péter Magyar branded the opposition parties’ votes against the legislation a “disgrace”, while Mi Hazánk called on President András Baka not to sign it into law.
Hungary’s parliament has passed a new child protection bill aimed at strengthening safeguards against sexual exploitation, violence and harmful content accessible to minors. The legislation was approved on Tuesday by 139 votes to 51, according to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI).
The bill was submitted by the government in September and introduces several measures, including new rules on protecting children from inappropriate media content, changes to access to criminal records and procedures for children left in hospitals despite no longer requiring medical care.
However, the vote has sparked a political row. Fidesz and Mi Hazánk both voted against the legislation, prompting Prime Minister Péter Magyar to accuse them of opposing measures designed to protect vulnerable children.
Magyar calls opposition vote a “disgrace”
In a Facebook post following the vote, Magyar criticised Fidesz and Mi Hazánk for rejecting the bill, highlighting its provisions concerning children left in hospitals and protection against violence.
“Fidesz and Mi Hazánk voted together against a law strengthening the protection of children. They voted down assistance for babies left in hospitals and the protection of children against all forms of violence. A disgrace!” the prime minister wrote.
When the government submitted the proposal in September, Magyar said he hoped that, despite political disagreements, no MP would vote against legislation intended to provide stronger protection for children.
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What does the new child protection law change?
The legislation is based on the principle enshrined in Hungary’s Fundamental Law that every child has the right to protection and care necessary for their physical, intellectual and moral development. According to the bill’s justification, effective regulation is needed to prevent, identify and address threats to children. The measures focus on several areas.
Protection from harmful content: The legislation seeks to shield minors from pornography, age-inappropriate material and violent sexual content, as well as other material considered seriously damaging to their development.
Safeguards in public spaces: Children would also receive protection against visual and audiovisual communications in public places that could adversely affect their physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development.
Access to criminal records: The rules governing the criminal records system will also change. Access to information intended to help protect children will remain possible, but it will be subject to prior official checks and additional data protection and technical safeguards.
Children left in hospitals: The bill also addresses cases in which children remain in hospital even though their medical condition no longer justifies their stay. In such cases, the guardianship authority must act within eight days to establish why the child has not been discharged and determine the measures that best serve the child’s interests.
Mi Hazánk accuses government of giving in to EU pressure
Mi Hazánk has strongly criticised the legislation and announced that it would write to President András Baka, asking him not to sign the bill approved by parliament.
Speaking to journalists in the Parliament building after Tuesday’s vote, party vice-president and deputy parliamentary group leader Dóra Dúró described the legislation as a change made in the interests of paedophiles under pressure from the European Union.
Dúró argued that the changes would make it more difficult for parents to access the register of convicted paedophiles and would allow what she called “LGBTQ lobby organisations” back into the education system.
She also indicated that, as the party’s parliamentary group member responsible for the issue, she would most likely draft the letter to the president.
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The legal and political legacy of Hungary’s previous child protection law
Originally presented as a measure against paedophilia, the child protection law was amended in 2021 to include provisions restricting the portrayal and promotion of homosexuality and gender reassignment to minors. The changes prompted criticism and became the subject of legal proceedings at EU level.
The European Commission launched infringement proceedings in 2021 and referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union in December 2022.
In April 2026, the EU court ruled that Hungary had breached its obligations under EU law, Telex wrote. In a landmark finding, the court also identified a separate breach of a treaty provision setting out the common values on which the European Union is founded.
The dispute has also had financial consequences. Since late 2022, around EUR 500–600 million in cohesion funding has been blocked in connection with the issue, under the EU’s horizontal enabling conditions. This sum is separate from the EUR 16.4 billion discussed in a political agreement reached in May 2026 between Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concerning the release of EU funds.
The EU’s Article 7 procedure against Hungary, launched in 2018 over concerns about the country’s compliance with the bloc’s fundamental values, also remains unresolved. EU affairs ministers and state secretaries were due to hear from their Hungarian counterpart on Tuesday as part of that process, according to Telex.
