EU Enforces New Rules For Transparency In Digital Political Advertising
The European Union has announced stringent regulations to ensure transparency in digital political advertising on major tech platforms, including Google and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). These rules, devised to counter foreign interference and disinformation during critical elections in the EU, were finalised following negotiations between EU member countries and the European Parliament.
Under the newly established guidelines, social media giants will be obligated to clearly label political advertising on their platforms. This includes specifying who funded the ads, the amount spent and which elections or referendums the advertisements are targeting.
Transparency and accountability in political advertising have become a top priority with these regulations. Tech companies will need to be more transparent in their handling of political advertising to ensure that users can easily discern the source and motives behind these messages.
To incentivise compliance with the new rules, violators could face substantial fines, amounting to up to 6 per cent of their annual turnover.
Moreover, the regulations include measures to prevent foreign entities from sponsoring political advertising within the EU during the three months preceding an election or referendum. This is a crucial step in curbing external interference in EU electoral processes.
In an effort to protect individuals from discriminatory profiling in political ads, the new rules also include a prohibition on ads that target people based on their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. This provision aims to foster an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment.
To enhance transparency further, all online political ads will be archived in an online repository, making it easier for users to access information about political advertisements.
Additionally, the regulations aim to facilitate transnational campaigning as the European Parliament prepares for its elections in June next year. Concerns regarding disinformation and foreign interference in the lead-up to these elections have underscored the importance of these rules.
While the bloc-wide rules are expected to come into effect in 2025, there will be a transitional period of 18 months. However, measures addressing non-discriminatory cross-border political advertising will already be in place for the European Parliament elections in 2024.
