EU rules on political ads enter into force: What will change?

"Elections across Europe have been plagued by attempts to spread disinformation in recent years. In the Romanian presidential election last November, the first round was invalidated based on intelligence reports that allegedly showed Russian involvement in voter influence through social media to bolster support for the then relatively unknown ultranationalist candidate Călin Georgescu. Other elections, such as those in France in June and July 2024 or the Czech general vote last weekend, were also reportedly targeted by Moscow-made disinformation."

"This notice is meant to clearly identify ads as such and include key information, such as the sponsor, the election to which they are linked and the amounts paid. The European Commission proposed the rules, known as the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation (TTPA), in 2021 to ensure that people are aware of why they are seeing an ad, who paid for it, and how much."

"At the time, the Commission said it had seen "too many examples of risks stemming from the digital realm," such as the Capitol Hill riots in the US in 2021, as well as claims about Russian interference in the United Kingdom's 2016 Brexit referendum. During the negotiations, national governments and EU lawmakers proposed amendments to the original Commission proposal, which notably led to the ban on foreign financing of political advertisements in the EU."

Disinformation campaigns linked to Russia have targeted several recent European elections, including Romania, France and the Czech Republic. New EU rules, the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation (TTPA), require political ads to carry a transparency label listing sponsor, linked election and amounts paid. The Commission proposed the rules in 2021 and negotiations led to a ban on foreign financing of political advertisements. The regulation comes into force on Friday and will apply 18 months after entry into force. The Dutch parliamentary election on 29 October will be the first test of the new measures.

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