Overview of Regulation (EU) 2024/900
Regulation (EU) 2024/900, known as the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation, establishes harmonized rules for political advertising across the European Union and European Economic Area. Adopted on March 13, 2024, and published in the Official Journal on March 20, 2024, the regulation entered into force on April 9, 2024. It complements existing frameworks such as the Digital Services Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation. The primary objective is to address concerns over the influence of microtargeting in elections, particularly by third-country actors, by introducing stricter transparency and targeting requirements.
The regulation applies to political advertising defined as messages prepared, placed, promoted, delivered, or disseminated by or on behalf of political actors, or those designed to influence elections, referendums, or legislative processes. This includes political parties, campaign organizations, elected officials, and issue-based groups, even if they are civil society campaigns tied to political or legislative outcomes.
Core Provisions and Obligations
The regulation introduces three key obligations: transparency and labeling, targeting restrictions, and third-country restrictions.
Transparency and Labeling
Political advertisements must include a clear label and a link to a transparency notice. The notice must disclose the identity of the sponsor, the purpose of the ad, the amount paid for its placement, the targeting criteria used, and the associated electoral or policy event. This requirement ensures that users can easily identify the source and intent behind political messaging, reducing the risk of covert influence.
Targeting Restrictions
The regulation prohibits targeting based on special categories of personal data, such as political opinions, ethnicity, health, or religious beliefs. Additionally, ads cannot be targeted at individuals under voting age or within one year of becoming eligible to vote. These restrictions aim to limit algorithmic microtargeting, which has been criticized for reinforcing polarization and manipulating voter behavior.
Third-Country Restrictions
In the three months preceding elections or referendums, providers of political advertising services can only serve EU-based entities that are not controlled by foreign interests. This measure is intended to mitigate foreign interference in EU electoral processes by restricting the ability of third-country actors to influence domestic politics through targeted advertising.
Implementation and Compliance Requirements
The regulation imposes strict record-keeping obligations on advertisers and intermediaries, requiring them to retain documentation such as sponsor identity, payment information, and the scope of services provided for a period of seven years. Content creators, platforms, and ad tech providers share liability for compliance, and contractual arrangements must clarify responsibilities among these parties.
A central feature of the regulation is the establishment of a European repository for online political advertisements. This repository will include metadata standards, authentication protocols, and APIs for third-party access, enabling stakeholders such as journalists, researchers, and civil society organizations to request machine-readable data from providers under Article 17.
Timeline and Enforcement
The regulation follows a phased implementation timeline:
- April 9, 2024: The regulation entered into force, and the non-discrimination obligation on providers of political advertising services began to apply.
The enforcement of these rules is designed to ensure compliance with the regulation’s goals while providing clarity for stakeholders through technical guidance.
Industry and Civil Society Reactions
The regulation has prompted significant responses from major tech companies and civil society organizations.
Google announced its exit from the EU political ad market in late 2024, citing the regulation’s broad scope and the lack of reliable electoral data as key challenges. Similarly, Meta Platforms announced it would suspend all political and issue-based ads in the EU from October 2025, attributing the decision to legal uncertainty and operational challenges. These withdrawals highlight the regulatory burden placed on platforms and the difficulties in adapting to new compliance requirements.
Civil society groups have raised concerns about the regulation’s potential to conflate civil society with political parties, imposing excessive burdens on NGOs, grassroots campaigns, and issue-driven communication. Critics argue that the broad definition of political advertising could stifle legitimate discourse on topics such as abortion or domestic violence when connected to legislative processes. Additionally, observers have noted issues such as the lack of technical guidance ahead of enforcement, disproportionate impacts on small and medium enterprises, and the risk of democratic distortion due to reliance on dominant platforms like Meta.
Challenges and Observations
The regulation’s implementation faces several challenges, including its broad definition of political advertising, which may inadvertently restrict non-partisan civil society activities. The lack of clear technical guidance before enforcement has also created operational uncertainties for platforms and advertisers. Furthermore, the regulation’s reliance on dominant platforms raises concerns about potential democratic distortions, as smaller or less established providers may struggle to comply with the new requirements. These challenges underscore the need for balanced enforcement that protects democratic processes without overly burdening legitimate actors.
Required actions
- Label political advertisements with sponsor, amount paid and links to a transparency notice - Targeting and ad-delivery techniques may only use personal data with explicit consent; no profiling on sensitive data or of minors - Third-country sponsors are barred from paying for political ads in the three months before an election