Internal Market MEPs endorse agreement on transparency of political advertising

The new rules with enhance the integrity of election campaigns and help fight against disinformation and foreign interference

Voters will be able to better recognise political ads and see who paid for it

People’s personal data will be protected

The new rules will regulate political advertisements, notably online ads, while also providing for a framework for political actors to advertise more easily across the EU.

On Wednesday, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee approved the political agreement on transparency and targeting of political advertising with 33 votes in favour, one against and eight abstentions, paving the way for the final vote during an upcoming plenary session.

Greater transparency and integrity of elections

Under the new rules, political advertising will have to be clearly labelled. Citizens, authorities and journalists will be able to easily obtain information on why they are seeing an ad, who is financing it, where are they established, how much have they paid and to which elections or referendum the message is linked. All political advertising and related information will be stored in a public online repository.

To limit foreign interference in European democratic processes, sponsoring ads from outside the EU will be prohibited in the three-month period before an election or referendum.

Regulating targeting strategies

Targeting and amplification techniques will only be possible for the purpose of online political advertising based on personal data collected from the subject, with explicit and separate consent. The use of special categories of personal data (e.g. ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation) or minors’ data would not be possible.

Protecting freedom of expression

The rules only concern remunerated political advertisements. They do not affect the content of political ads nor rules on conduct and financing of political campaigns. Personal views, political opinions, such as any unsponsored journalistic content, or communications on the organisation of elections (e.g. announcements of candidates or promoting participation) by official national or EU sources are not impacted.

Next steps

Parliament as a whole is expected to vote on the rules during the 26-29 February plenary session. The rules will apply 18 months after the entry into force.