In an increasingly digitalized world, political advertising plays a crucial role in citizens' opinion-forming and voting decisions. The transparency of political advertising is at the heart of efforts to protect the democratic process. Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 sets a milestone in the transparency of political advertising. The regulation aims to counteract information manipulation and foreign influence on elections. The aim is to make it easier for citizens to recognize political ads, understand who is behind them and find out whether they are personalized ads.
The Austrian legislature had already amended the Media Act with BGBl I 125/2022, which specifically concerns the labeling requirement for paid publications with a political reference. The newly inserted Section 26 Paragraph 2 of the Media Act requires that paid publications related to elections or political parties must not only be labeled as "advertisement" or "advertisement", but must also contain the name of the client. This regulation applies during the election campaign period between the election deadline and election day. A violation of Section 26 Paragraph 2 of the Media Act constitutes an administrative offense and is punishable by a fine of up to € 20,000.
The new rules in the European regulation are more comprehensive; they stipulate that political advertising must also contain information on how much it is paid for, which election, referendum or regulatory process it is linked to and whether targeted advertising techniques have been used. Online political advertising will also be recorded in a special online directory. In addition, sponsorship of advertising by actors outside the EU will be prohibited in the three months before elections. In addition, political targeting and advertising display techniques may only use personal data collected from the data subject, on the condition that that person has consented.
The use of sensitive personal data, however, is completely excluded. The maximum amounts for financial sanctions depend on the economic performance of the company. Either 6% of the annual income of the annual budget of the sponsor or the provider of political advertising services must be used to calculate the maximum amounts, or 6% of the worldwide annual turnover of the sponsor or the provider of political advertising services in the previous financial year.
Regulation (EU) 2024/900 marks an important step towards greater transparency and fairness in political advertising. In contrast to the regulation in Section 26 Paragraph 2 of the Media Act, the European legislator goes much further and makes it easier for voters to identify paid content and understand who financed it and how the advertising was targeted.
06.04.2024