European Union: European Commission adopted guidance to support implementation of Regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising

On 8 October 2025, the European Commission adopted guidelines to support the implementation of the Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising, which comes into force on 10 October 2025. The guidelines provide practical instructions for political actors and advertising service providers on identifying political ads and meeting due diligence obligations, while also supporting national authorities’ oversight. The regulation establishes common EU transparency standards for political advertising across online and offline media, requiring all ads to be clearly labelled and to disclose who paid for them, how much was spent, and whether they were targeted. The guidance also addressed the interplay with the “notice and action mechanism” under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Online platforms are not considered political advertising publishers when users upload content directly without the platform’s involvement, and they are not subject to the regulation’s obligations, but must comply with the DSA. The DSA prohibits general monitoring of user content but allows platforms to handle reports of illegal material through the “notice and action” mechanism. Platforms must process such notices diligently and objectively, deciding whether the content is illegal. If they gain actual knowledge of illegal political advertising, they must remove or disable access to it to retain their liability exemption. When doing so, they must provide reasons and information on redress options to the uploader, as illustrated by cases where an authority has ruled an advertisement illegal. The Commission will work with Member States and stakeholders through a network of national contact points, a new expert group, and an implementation dialogue in 2026 to facilitate consistent application. Two online portals have also been launched to share election dates and list non-EU providers’ legal representatives.