Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
It was announced in Brussels that the rotating presidency of the European Union and European Parliament negotiators had reached a provisional agreement on the main political elements of a new regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising.
The regulation was drawn up amid concerns about the risks posed by information manipulation and foreign interference in elections. It aims to make it easier for citizens to identify political ads, understand who is behind them, and know whether they have received a targeted ad, so they are better placed to make informed choices.
It will support an open and fair political debate in Member States, based on objective, transparent and pluralistic information, and ensure that the political declaration is made in full respect for fundamental rights, including the right to privacy.
Scope of the new rules
Under the Interim Agreement, political advertising is defined as the preparation, placement, promotion, publication, delivery or distribution of messages:
By, for, or on behalf of political actors, unless of a purely private or commercial nature; or which is responsible for and designed to influence voting behavior or the outcome of an election, referendum, legislative or regulatory process at EU, national, regional or local level
The new regulation will cover political advertising that is typically made for pay, but will also cover political advertising through internal activities, such as the preparation of political advertising within political parties, and as part of a political advertising campaign.
At the same time, the rules make it clear that political opinions and other content subject to editorial responsibility, as well as opinions expressed in a personal capacity, are not covered by the regulation.
Targeting and ad delivery rules
The provisionally agreed rules also place strict limits on the use of targeting and ad serving technologies.
The use of personal data to target online political advertising will only be permitted if the data is collected from the data subject, who has given explicit and separate consent to be used for political advertising.
In addition, there will be a comprehensive ban on profiling using special categories of personal data, such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin or political opinions.
Other provisions
To prevent foreign interference, EU co-legislators also agreed to ban the provision of advertising services to third-country sponsors three months before an election or referendum, while maintaining stricter national rules where appropriate.
It stipulates that the Commission should establish a public European repository for online political advertising to collect and make publicly available information on all online advertising and its transparency notices.
EU co-legislators also agreed that the new rules will apply 18 months after they enter into force. However, the tariffs and the so-called non-discrimination clause, which stipulates that services cannot be restricted solely on the basis of place of residence or establishment of a political advertising sponsor, will apply in time for the European Parliament elections.
According to a European statement issued in Brussels, work will continue at the technical level in the coming weeks to finalize the details of the new regulation. Once this work is completed, the full agreement must be fully confirmed by both institutions and subjected to legal and linguistic review before being formally adopted.