In two separate filings Friday with the Court of Justice, the European Commission sued Hungary over a Hungarian law which discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The EU Commission also sued the government of Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban for breaching EU telecoms rules with the Hungarian Media Council’s refusal to renew the license of Klubradio, a broadcaster critical of Orban’s government.

The Hungarian law, in particular, singles out and targets LGBTQ and intersex content that “promotes or portrays” what it refers to as “divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality” for individuals under 18.

The commission noted in a press release the referral to court is the next step of the infringement procedure launched by the commission on July 15, 2021, against Hungary with a letter of formal notice.

As the Hungarian authorities did not sufficiently respond to the concerns of the commission in relation to equality and the protection of fundamental rights, and did not include any commitment to remedy the incompatibility, the commission sent a reasoned follow-up opinion to Hungary on Dec. 2, 2021.

Orban, who has publicly proclaimed that he is a “defender of traditional family Catholic values,” has been criticized by international human rights groups as discriminating against LGBTQ and intersex people with this law which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called a “disgrace.”

The protection of children is an absolute priority for the EU and its member states the press release continued and noted:

The Hungarian law contains provisions which are not justified on the basis of promoting this fundamental interest or are disproportionate to achieve the stated objective. It violates the following EU rules:

• The Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which the law breaches as regards standards for audio-visual content and the free provision of cross-border audiovisual media services. Hungary put in place unjustified and disproportionate restrictions which discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The e-commerce directive and its country of origin provision. The law restricts the provision of services displaying content portraying different sexual orientations to minors, including when these services originate from other member states, and Hungary failed to justify these restrictions.
• The Treaty principle of freedom to provide services (Article 56 TFEU) and the Services Directive. The addressees of parts of the law fall under the definition of a service under EU rules. The freedom to provide services can only be limited if the restrictions imposed by the law are duly justified, non-discriminatory and proportionate, which Hungary has failed to demonstrate.
• The right to data protection, in particular because the national provisions do not define precisely who can be authorised to access sensitive personal data stored in the Criminal Records System and whose data can be targeted by such access. Furthermore, the national provisions do not establish objective criteria to justify the necessity of the access to the data.
• The Single Market Transparency Directive, as Hungary failed to notify the commission in advance of the adoption of some of the contested provisions despite the obligation to do so laid down in the directive.
• In the context of implementation of EU law, the Hungarian law also violates in a systematic manner several fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. This includes the inviolability of human dignity, the right to freedom of expression and information, the right to private and family life, as well as the right to non-discrimination. Due to of the gravity of these violations, the contested provisions also violate the common values laid down in Article 2 TEU.

Background

On June 15, 2021, the Hungarian Law purportedly aiming at taking stricter action against pedophile offenders and amending certain laws to protect children was adopted. Some of the new provisions target and limit the access of minors to content and advertisements that “promotes or portrays” the so-called “divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality.”

Prior to its passage, more than 5,000 people, LGBTQ and intersex activists and supporters along with human rights activists demonstrated in front of the Parliament in Budapest, angered by legislation banning any content portraying or promoting homosexuality or sex reassignment to anyone under 18.

It was sponsored by Fidesz, Orban’s ruling conservative party and essentially equates sexual and gender diversity people to pedophilia.

In its second referral to the court, the commission sued Hungary for breaching EU telecoms rules.

In a press release the EU noted: The commission believes that Hungary is in breach of EU law by applying disproportionate and non-transparent conditions to the renewal of Klubradio’s rights to use radio spectrum. Moreover, the commission considers that Hungary applied the relevant rules in a disproportionate and discriminatory manner and that Hungary failed to adopt timely decisions. Through its conduct, Hungary has also violated the freedom of speech as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.

Hungary’s disproportionate and discriminatory actions prevented Klubradio from continuing its activity in the radio broadcasting sector on the basis of radio frequency.