Hungary’s government fined a retailer for its display of a book “portraying homosexuality” in a sign it is escalating enforcement of a law meant to curtail minors’ access to LGBTQ content just days before this weekend’s Pride march.
(Bloomberg) — Hungary’s government fined a retailer for its display of a book “portraying homosexuality” in a sign it is escalating enforcement of a law meant to curtail minors’ access to LGBTQ content just days before this weekend’s Pride march.
The office fined Lira Kiskereskedelmi Kft. 12 million forint ($36,000) for displaying books from the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman in the children’s section of its bookstore without special foil packaging required under the law. The Budapest government office said in a statement announcing the fine that it was acting to “protect children.”
“For the time being, I can only confirm that we have received the decision,” Krisztian Nyary, a writer and creative director at the retailer said. “We will use all legal remedies available to us.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet has effectively barred adoption for same-sex couples, restricted minors’ access to education materials and literature related to LGBTQ topics and banned non-governmental organizations from holding sex education in schools. In 2022, the European Commission brought a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice against Hungary for a 2021 law that it says discriminates against LGBTQ minorities. A majority of member states have joined the lawsuit on the commission’s side.
Separately, the European Union continues to withhold more than $30 billion in funding from the country on rule-of-law and graft concerns.
Netflix released a series based on Oseman’s books in 2022, which it describes as an “uplifting LGBTQ+ drama about teen friendship and young romance” on its website.
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