EU agrees to stricter rules on political advertisements

Large tech companies are faced with stricter rules surrounding the display of political advertisements in the EU. The European Parliament and EU member states have agreed on this. The rules are expected to come into effect in 2025.

With the upcoming rules, tech giants like Meta and Google must be more transparent about the political ads they display on their platforms, reports the European Parliament. For example, political advertisements must be given clear labels. The platforms must also show who paid for the ad, the amount involved and where the funding came from. Platforms must also show which elections the advertisements are displayed around.

Furthermore, countries outside the EU are prohibited from sponsoring political advertisements in the EU in the three months prior to an election or referendum. Political advertisements that are profiled based on ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation are also banned. “The new rules make it more difficult for foreign actors to spread disinformation and interfere in our free and democratic processes,” wrote MEP Sandro Gozi, who led the legislative process in the European Parliament.

The new law still needs to be formally adopted by the EU Council and the European Parliament. The rules become active eighteen months after that happens. This is expected to happen sometime in 2025. The rules surrounding foreign political advertisements already apply for the European Parliament elections in June next year.