Hungary holds 2.11 % of the EU population. Its government supports mandatory scanning of private messages, or the widest scanning scope in Council, since 17 Jun 2026.
Supports Last checked 11 October 2026
What the government has said
“Voluntariness alone as the sole concept is too little. Excluding voluntary measures in end-to-end encrypted communication is a red line.”Council working party, 12 November 2025, as recorded in the German cable, translated
Receipt: Council minutes, 10 and 17 Jun 2026, via netzpolitik.org
New Tisza government since May 2026 kept the broad-scope line with France. In July 2026 it was the only government to vote against Chat Control 1.0; no reason was published, while the prime minister defended the interim rules at home.
How it voted in the Council
- Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025
- yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.
- Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026
- no The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.
A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.
How its MEPs voted
On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 21 MEPs elected in Hungary, 1 voted to reject it, 13 voted against rejection, 1 abstained and 6 did not vote.
- 1 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
- 13 against rejection, letting the text pass
- 1 abstained
- 6 did not vote
The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.
Who decides in Hungary
- Minister
- Gábor Pósfai, Minister of the Interior in the government of Péter Magyar, sworn in on 12 May 2026. The Council positions on record span the previous and the present government. Justice Minister Márta Görög
- Ministry in charge
- Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice
- Permanent representation
- Ambassador Bálint Ódor, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Ambassador Katalin Molnár, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)
Source: kormany.hu/a-kormany-tagjai
Timeline
- Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Hungary: no.
- European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Hungary: 1 for rejection, 13 against, 1 abstained, 6 did not vote. source
- Recorded as supports. Receipt: Council minutes, 10 and 17 Jun 2026, via netzpolitik.org source
- The government of Péter Magyar is sworn in; Gábor Pósfai becomes Minister of the Interior. source
- Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Hungary: yes.
Sources
- Council minutes, 10 and 17 Jun 2026, via netzpolitik.org (receipt)
- Council minutes, 12 Nov 2025, via netzpolitik.org
- Council voting result, 23 Jul 2026 (vote against)
- Prime Minister Peter Magyar defends the interim rules, 24.hu, 17 Jul 2026
- Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU, staff
- Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from
This page is one of 27 records behind Where the 27 governments stand. Together the governments against hold 32.9 % of the EU population; a blocking minority needs more than 35 %.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Data for all 27: JSON · CSV. Found a mistake? Tell us; we correct openly and say what changed.
Cite as: Brussels Record, “Hungary: position on Chat Control”, last checked 11 October 2026, https://brusselsrecord.com/member-states/hungary/
