On Monday evening, EU co-legislators achieved a significant breakthrough by reaching a provisional agreement on new rules aimed at ensuring transparency and countering interference in election and referendum campaigns. These regulations specifically focus on political advertisements, including those disseminated online, while facilitating smoother advertising processes across the EU.
Lead MEP Sandro Gozi (Renew, FR) expressed his satisfaction after the successful negotiation between Parliament and Spanish Presidency representatives, stating, “This is a major step in protecting our elections and achieving digital sovereignty in the EU. Citizens will be able to easily identify political advertising online and the entities behind it. These new rules will make it increasingly difficult for foreign actors to disseminate disinformation and meddle in our free and democratic processes. Moreover, we have established a favorable environment for transnational campaigning ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections.”
Enhanced Transparency and Accountability
One of the key provisions in the new regulations mandates clear labeling for political advertising. These rules ensure that citizens, authorities, and journalists can easily access information about the financing sources of an advertisement, including details such as the advertiser’s establishment, amount spent, and the origin of funding. Additionally, a publicly-accessible repository containing all online political advertisements and related information will be established by the Commission within 24 months of the rules’ implementation. The repository will maintain this information for up to seven years, further enhancing transparency.
Curbing Foreign Interference
To safeguard European democratic processes from non-EU interference, MEPs successfully included a prohibition on political advertising sponsorship by third country entities within the three-month period preceding an election or referendum. This move serves as a vital step in safeguarding the integrity of democratic decision-making.
Regulating Targeting Strategies
The agreement stipulates that only personal data explicitly provided by individuals for the purpose of online political advertising can be utilized by providers to target users. Moreover, political advertisements based on profiling that utilizes sensitive personal data, such as ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, will be strictly prohibited. Parliament has introduced additional provisions to regulate targeting, including a ban on using minors’ data.
Protecting Freedom of Expression
It is important to highlight that the agreed rules solely apply to remunerated political advertisements. Personal views, political opinions, and unsponsored journalistic content, as well as communications related to the organization of elections (such as candidate announcements and promotion of participation) issued by official national or EU sources, will not be affected by these regulations.
Sanctions for Infringements
The agreed text incorporates the potential for periodic penalties to be imposed in cases of repeated violations. In line with the Digital Services Act, these sanctions may reach up to 6% of the annual income or turnover of an advertising provider, emphasizing the seriousness with which infringements will be treated.
Next Steps
Both the Council and Parliament still need to formally adopt the agreement to ensure its implementation. The rules are expected to come into effect 18 months following their entry into force, while provisions restricting non-discriminatory cross-border political advertising (including for European political parties and groups) will be applied for the European Parliament elections in 2024.
Background
With the substantial shift of political advertising to online platforms, existing national regulations designed to govern this sphere have proven inadequate. Furthermore, the fragmented nature of legislative efforts across member states has created challenges for voters and advertisers alike. These new EU regulations will help address these issues, providing a unified framework for transparent and resilient political advertising practices.
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