'Programmes that portray sexuality for its own sake, or promote homosexuality or gender change fall under the fifth (not recommended to under-18s) age classification,' the NMHH said in its updated publication. Orban says the law is aimed at the protection of children, while EU leaders say the reforms discriminate against gay and transgender people and go against EU values. German media group RTL's Hungarian unit, the country's top broadcaster by audience, HBO and Netflix did not immediately respond to emailed questions on how the new guidelines would affect their programming.įacing a tough election next year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has grown increasingly radical on social policy to protect what he says are traditional Christian values from Western liberalism.
Under the revised guidelines, Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's 'All About My Mother' or 'The L Word' series fall under the same age classification as the horror series 'Saw' or 'The Exorcist', the regulator said. Rather, it assesses the entire context and message with regard to the age-appropriate intellectual and processing capabilities of minors,' the regulator, NMHH, said. 'The protection of minors does not mean that certain issues are a taboo. But programmes depicting what the regulator called the virtues, uniqueness of benefits of homosexuality or change of gender would deserve a higher age rating, it said.
