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Adopted text

Transparency and targeting of political advertising

TA-9-2023-0027 · P9_TA(2023)0027 · PE732.754

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's amended version of the proposed regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising lays down harmonised rules on political advertising services and on targeting and ad delivery techniques. It requires sponsors and providers to declare and label political advertisements, keep records, publish transparency notices and report spending. It bans targeting using special categories of personal data and restricts other targeting to data explicitly provided by the person, with tighter limits in the 60 days before an election. It sets up a European repository for online political advertisements, national contact points, complaint rights and sanctions for breaches.

Key points

  1. The regulation applies to political advertising prepared, placed, promoted, published, delivered or disseminated in the Union or directed at individuals in one or more member states, wherever the provider is established.
  2. Member states may not keep or introduce transparency rules that diverge from the regulation, and political advertising services may not be prohibited or restricted on transparency grounds when the rules are met.
  3. Providers must not discriminate against sponsors based on residence or establishment, and services may be provided only to sponsors who are Union citizens or persons residing or established in the Union.
  4. Sponsors and providers acting for them must declare in good faith whether advertising is political, correct manifest errors, and provide timely, complete and accurate information.
  5. Providers must retain records on services, dates, amounts and benefits, their origin, the sponsor's identity and linked elections, in written and electronic machine-readable form for ten years.
  6. Political advertising publishers must label each political advertisement clearly and provide a transparency notice with the sponsor's identity, spending, funding origin and linked votes.
  7. The Commission must set up a public European repository for online political advertisements, with very large platforms and search engines feeding it in real time.
  8. Publishers must report spending on targeting or delivery aggregated by campaign, and report regularly to national authorities; micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are exempt from the annual report.
  9. Publishers must provide free, user-friendly notification mechanisms, respond within 48 hours in the month before an election, and inform complainants of redress options.
  10. Targeting and ad delivery using special categories of personal data are banned; other targeting is limited to data explicitly provided with consent, capped at four categories, and ad delivery must select recipients randomly.
  11. In the 60 days before an election or referendum, targeting is limited to language, constituency-level location and first-voter status.
  12. Non-EU providers must appoint a legal representative in the Union, registered with the national contact point, and member states must sanction infringements with effective, proportionate and dissuasive fines.

Who is affected

  • Providers of political advertising services, including platforms and publishers, must comply with transparency, record-keeping and targeting rules.
  • Sponsors of political advertising must declare the political nature of advertising and ensure the accuracy of information they provide.
  • Very large online platforms and search engines must feed the European repository in real time and assess systemic risks.
  • Non-EU providers offering services in the Union must designate a legal representative registered with the national contact point.
  • Individuals gain rights to report non-compliant advertisements, lodge complaints and withdraw consent for targeting.

Figures and deadlines

  • Records must be retained for ten years from the last preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination.
  • In the 60 days before an election or referendum, targeting is limited to language, constituency-level location and first-voter status.
  • Targeting may not combine more than four categories of personal data.
  • Publishers must process election-related notifications within 48 hours in the month before a vote.
  • Providers must acknowledge information requests within two working days and provide information within eight working days.
  • In the month before an election, requested information must be provided within 48 hours.
  • The European Data Protection Board may order a platform to stop targeting a sponsor for a period not exceeding 15 days.
  • The regulation applies from three months after entry into force, with repository provisions applying one year after entry into force.

Legal basis: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union for transparency rules and Article 16 for targeting and ad delivery rules.