Hungary's media watchdog has concluded that an animated Netflix series broke a Hungarian anti-LGBT law at the heart of a bitter rights dispute with the European Union when it showed "two girls profess their love and kiss each other."
The National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) said its Media Council had concluded that the kiss in an episode of the series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, "as well as the depiction of the scary creatures chasing the characters, could be harmful to the moral development of minors."
It announced its investigation last month based on "several complaints."
The NMHH said in a statement e-mailed to RFE/RL on September 9 that "under Hungarian law, the cartoon should have been made available with a rating of 'not recommended for children under 12.'"
Netflix, whose European headquarters is in the Netherlands, had streamed the episode on a channel for children aged 7 and up.
The NMHH said its Media Council "is going to notify the Dutch audiovisual regulator (CVDM), asking it to investigate the case."
The Dutch authority has not responded publicly to any referral.
The Hungarian amendments to child-protection, media, education, and other laws were overwhelmingly approved in mid-2021 with backing from Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party amid street protests against their passage.
They enshrine a "sex-at-birth" approach and ban certain language regarding gender and sexual preference, among other things.
They effectively bar images of homosexuality to anyone under 18 in a way that critics compare to Russia's notorious gay "propaganda" ban passed in 2013.
The EU objections to the Hungarian laws are among a handful of bitter disputes between Brussels and Orban's national populist leadership.
The European Commission has referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the 2021 laws for "discriminat[ing] against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity."
In announcing its decision in the Jurassic World/Netflix case, the Hungarian regulator said the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had "previously made a similar finding...when the entire fifth season was rated as 'not recommended for children under 12.'"
The British regulator assigned "parental guidance" ratings to the Jurassic World series' first four seasons but attached a 12-and-up rating to season five, which includes the episode at issue in the Hungarian case.
The BBFC's website on the series cites "dangerous behavior."
According to Politico.eu in August, none of the 12 previous complaints the NMHH received in 2022 was found to have broken the law.
