EU Regulation 2024/900 introduces a unified European framework specifically for political advertising - replacing the previously fragmented national landscape with harmonised rules on transparency, targeting, and accountability.

Before vs After

Before After - 2024/900
Fragmented landscape: Political advertising rules existed primarily at national level (electoral/administrative legislation), with different requirements per Member State.
Online environment: Partial transparency/accountability from GDPR (especially for profiling/sensitive data) and from DSA (general ad transparency rules for platforms), but no unified European framework specifically for political ads.		 Unified, horizontal rules across the entire EU for:
- Identification/labelling of political advertising
- Transparency notices with specific required fields
- Archiving/record-keeping
- Restrictions on targeting/ad-delivery involving personal data processing
- Public European repository for online political ads

New Transparency Obligations

1. Label - Political Advertising Marking (Article 11)

A mandatory, prominent label indicating that content is political advertising, with key information and a reference to where the transparency notice can be found.

The format/template is specified by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1410.

2. Transparency Notice (Article 12)

An information "card" that must be immediately available and kept up to date. It includes, among others:

  • Sponsor (and, where applicable, ultimate controlling entity)
  • Country of establishment
  • Dissemination period
  • Connection to an election/referendum/process
  • Amounts/benefits and source of funding

Technical specifications and format are also defined by (EU) 2025/1410.

3. Record-Keeping (Article 9)

Obligation to maintain records for 7 years - covering what service was provided, what was invoiced/received, who the sponsor is, origin of funds, etc. - ensuring a complete audit trail.

Targeting & Ad-Delivery Restrictions

The Regulation does not "replace" GDPR but introduces specialised rules for online political advertising when targeting/ad-delivery techniques based on personal data processing are used (profiling, delivery optimisation, etc.).

In practical terms, it raises the bar for legal basis/consent and for what is permissible regarding sensitivity, purpose, and documentation - with GDPR remaining the general backbone.

Machine-Readable Publication Requirements

Transparency is not just a "page for humans" - a machine-readable structure/technical format is also required for labels and transparency notices, so they can be collected, verified, and uploaded to repositories.

This is locked in by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1410, which provides templates and technical specifications.

New Concepts Introduced

The new framework operates with a common language for:

Key Term / Concept Description
Transparency Notice Standardised transparency announcement
Sponsor Including, where applicable, ultimate controlling entity
Political Advertising Services / Providers Covers the entire chain: agencies, ad-tech, publishers, etc.
Political Advertising Publisher The entity that ultimately displays the ad to the user
Targeting & Ad-Delivery Techniques Methods used to direct ads to specific audiences
Amplification Functional concept for increasing reach/visibility through optimisation techniques

Relationship with GDPR & DSA

With GDPR With DSA (Reg. 2022/2065)
Regulation 2024/900 "sits on top of" GDPR: when personal data processing is involved (especially profiling), all GDPR obligations continue fully - legal basis, transparency, data subject rights, DPIAs where needed, etc. DSA has general ad transparency obligations for online platforms (e.g., "why am I seeing this ad", who is paying, etc.). Regulation 2024/900 adds a political-specific layer: unified labels/notices, record-keeping, repository, and special rules for targeting/ad-delivery in political advertising.

Implementation Timeline

Date Milestone
13 March 2024 Adoption of the Regulation
20 March 2024 Publication in the Official Journal (OJ)
9 April 2024 Entry into force (20th day after publication)
9 July / 16 July 2025 Issuance/publication of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1410 for formats & technical specifications
10 October 2025 Application of the majority of obligations - "go-live" for most rules

Current status: The Regulation requires application, but in some Member States legislative processes have already begun to determine more specific enforcement procedures, competent authorities, criminal sanctions for violations, national registries of responsible parties/publishers/platforms, and internal arrangements for records & compliance.