Subject matter and objectives
1. This Regulation lays down:
(a)
harmonised rules, including transparency and related due diligence obligations, for the provision of political advertising and related services, and, where applicable, for sponsors, on the collection, retention, disclosure and publication of information related to the provision of such services in the internal market;
(b)
harmonised rules on the use of targeting techniques and ad-delivery techniques that involve the processing of personal data in the context of the provision of online political advertising;
(c)
rules on the supervision and enforcement of this Regulation, including as regards the cooperation and coordination between the competent authorities.
2. Political opinions and other editorial content, regardless of the medium through which they are expressed, that are subject to editorial responsibility shall not be considered to be political advertising unless specific payment or other remuneration is provided for, or in connection with, their preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination by third parties.
3. Political opinions that are expressed in a personal capacity shall not be considered to be political advertising.
4. The objectives of this Regulation are:
(a)
to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market for political advertising and related services;
(b)
to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular the right to privacy and the protection of personal data.
Scope
1. This Regulation applies to political advertising where the political advertisement is disseminated in the Union, is brought into the public domain in one or several Member States or is directed to Union citizens, irrespective of the place of establishment of the provider of political advertising services or of the place of residence or establishment of the sponsor, and irrespective of the means used.
2. This Regulation shall not affect the content of political advertisements or Union or national rules that regulate aspects related to political advertising other than those covered by this Regulation, including the rules on the organisation, financing and conduct of political campaigns, the rules on general bans or limitations on political advertising during specified periods, and, where applicable, the rules on electoral periods.
3. This Regulation is without prejudice to the rules laid down in the following:
(a)
Directive 2000/31/EC;
(b)
Directive 2002/58/EC;
(c)
Directive 2005/29/EC;
(d)
Directive 2006/114/EC;
(e)
Directive 2006/123/EC;
(f)
Directive 2010/13/EU;
(g)
Directive 2011/83/EU;
(h)
Regulation (EU) 2019/1150;
(i)
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘service’ means any self-employed economic activity, normally provided for remuneration, as referred to in Article 57 TFEU;
(2)
‘political advertising’ means the preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination, by any means, of a message, normally provided for remuneration or through in-house activities or as part of a political advertising campaign:
(a)
by, for or on behalf of a political actor, unless it is of a purely private or a purely commercial nature; or
(b)
which is liable and designed to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, voting behaviour or a legislative or regulatory process, at Union, national, regional or local level;
and does not include:
(i)
messages from official sources of Member States or the Union that are strictly limited to the organisation and modalities for participating in elections or referendums, including the announcement of candidacies or the question put to the referendum, or for promoting participation in elections or referendums;
(ii)
public communication that aims to provide official information to the public by, for or on behalf of any public authority of a Member State or by, for or on behalf of the Union, including by, for or on behalf of members of the government of a Member State, provided that they are not liable and designed to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, voting behaviour or a legislative or regulatory process; and
(iii)
presenting candidates in specified public spaces or in the media which is explicitly provided for by law and allocated free of charge, while ensuring equal treatment of candidates;
(3)
‘political advertisement’ means an instance of political advertising published, delivered or disseminated by any means;
(4)
‘political actor’ means any of the following:
(a)
a ‘political party’ as defined in Article 2, point 1, of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, or an entity directly or indirectly related to the sphere of activity of such a political party;
(b)
a ‘political alliance’ as defined in Article 2, point 2, of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;
(c)
a ‘European political party’ as defined in Article 2, point 3, of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;
(d)
a candidate for or holder of any elected office at Union, national, regional and local level, or any leadership position within a political party;
(e)
a member of Union institutions, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors, or of a government of a Member State at national, regional or local level;
(f)
a political campaign organisation with or without legal personality, established solely for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election or referendum;
(g)
any natural or legal person representing or acting on behalf of any of the persons or organisations referred to in points (a) to (f), and promoting the political objectives of any of those persons or organisations;
(5)
‘political advertising service’ means a service consisting of political advertising with the exception of an online ‘intermediary service’, as defined in Article 3, point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, that is provided without consideration, for the preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination for the specific message;
(6)
‘provider of political advertising services’ means a natural or legal person engaging in the provision of political advertising services, with the exception of purely ancillary services;
(7)
‘political advertising campaign’ means the preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or dissemination of a series of linked political advertisements in the course of a contract for political advertising on the basis of common preparation, sponsorship or funding;
(8)
‘very large online platform’ means an online platform designated as a very large online platform pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
(9)
‘very large online search engine’ means an online search engine designated as a very large online search engine pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
(10)
‘sponsor’ means the natural or legal person at whose request or on whose behalf a political advertisement is prepared, placed, promoted, published, delivered or disseminated;
(11)
‘targeting techniques’ means techniques that are used to address a political advertisement only to a specific person or group of persons, or to exclude them, on the basis of the processing of personal data;
(12)
‘ad-delivery techniques’ means optimisation techniques that are used to increase the circulation, reach or visibility of a political advertisement on the basis of the automated processing of personal data and that can serve to deliver the political advertisement to a specific person or group of persons only;
(13)
‘political advertising publisher’ means a provider of political advertising service that publishes, delivers or disseminates political advertising through any medium;
(14)
‘controller’ means a ‘controller’ as defined in Article 4, point 7, of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or, where applicable, as defined in Article 3, point 8, of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
Internal Market principle
1. Member States shall not maintain or introduce, on grounds related to the transparency of political advertising, provisions or measures diverging from those laid down in this Regulation.
2. The provision of political advertising services shall not be prohibited or restricted, including geographically, on grounds related to transparency when the requirements of this Regulation are complied with.
Provision of political advertising services in the Union
1. Providers of political advertising services shall not make the provision of their services subject to discriminatory restrictions solely based on the place of residence or establishment of the sponsor.
Providers of political advertising services shall not restrict the provision of their services to a ‘European political party’ as defined in Article 2, point 3, of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, or a political group in the European Parliament, solely on the basis of its place of establishment.
2. Without prejudice to stricter national rules, in the last three months preceding an election or referendum organised at Union level or at national, regional or local level in a Member State, political advertising services pertaining to that election or referendum shall only be provided to a sponsor, or service provider acting on behalf of a sponsor, who declares itself to be:
(a)
a citizen of the Union; or
(b)
a third-country national permanently residing in the Union and having a right to vote in that election or referendum in accordance with the national law of the Member State of residence; or
(c)
a legal person established in the Union which is not ultimately owned or controlled by a third-country national, with the exception of third-country nationals referred to in point (b), or by a legal person established in a third country.
