22 Amendments of Daniel BUDA related to 2021/0381(COD)
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Political advertising can be disseminated or published through various means and media across borders. It can be disseminated or published via traditional offline media such as newspapers, television and radio, and also increasingly via online platforms, websites, mobile applications, computer games and other digital interfaces. The latter are not only particularly prone to be offered cross- border, but also raise novel and difficult regulatory and enforcement challenges, especially in terms of regulatory fragmentation across the Member States. The use of online political advertising is strongly increasing, and certain linear offline forms of political advertising, such as radio and television, are also offered online as on-demand services. Political advertising campaigns tend to be organised to make use of a range of media and forms, but the rules in force in this area vary from one Member State to another.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The need to ensure transparency is a legitimate public goal, in conformity with the values shared by the EU and its Member States pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (‘TEU’). It is not always easy for citizens to recognise political advertisements and to inform themselves accurately and objectively and to exercise their democratic rights in an informed manner. A high level of transparency is necessary, among others, to support an open and fair political debate and free and fair elections or referendums and to combat disinformation and unlawful interference including from abroad. Political advertising can be a vector of disinformation or incomplete information, in particular where the advertising does not disclose its political nature, and where it is targeted. Transparency of political advertising contributes to enabling voters to better understand when they are being presented with a political advertisement on whose behalf that advertisement is being made, and how they are being targeted by an advertising service provider, so that voters are better placed to inform themselves accurately and objectively and to make informed choices.
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Political advertising is currently regulated heterogeneously in the Member States, which in many cases tends to focus on traditional media forms. Specific restrictions exist including on cross-border provisions of political advertising services. Some Member States prohibit EU service providers established in other Member States from providing services of a political nature or with a political purpose during electoral periods. At the same time, gaps and loopholes in national legislation are likely to exist in some Member States resulting in political advertising sometimes being disseminated without regard to relevant national rules and thus risking undermining the objective of transparency regulation for political advertising. Moreover, at EU level, regulation in the area of political advertising services is fragmented and enforcement is uneven. Besides this, where action is being taken at a national level, this is not sufficient to make good the shortcomings in cross- border enforcement.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) Most of the national rules that have been adopted are fragmented, particularly in terms of the relevant definitions and the nature of the obligations. For example, the definition of the concept of political advertising across Member States differs from one Member States to another, which creates difficulties when it comes to establishing whether the advertising qualifies as being political. There are also substantial differences in the regulation of the scope and content of the transparency obligations applicable to service providers offering services in connection with political advertising within Member States or across borders. What is more, fragmentation is expected to increase as Member States develop new rules to address the need to ensure the transparency of political advertising, especially against the backdrop of technological developments, which will contribute to reducing legal certainty both for political advertising service providers and for sponsors of political advertisements.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In this context, providers of political advertising services are likely to be discouraged from providing their political advertising services in cross- border situations. This is particularly true for microenterprises and SMEs, which often do not have the resources to absorb or pass on the high compliance costs connected to the preparation, placement, publication or dissemination of political advertising in more than one Member State. This limits the availability of services and negatively impacts the possibility for service providers to innovate and offer multi-medium and multi-national campaigns within the internal market, and also has a considerable impact on the level of accurate, objective and full information provided to EU citizens.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Regulation should provide for harmonised transparency requirements applicable to economic actors providing political advertising and related services (i.e. activities that are normally provided for remuneration) on EU territory; those services consist in particular of the preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of political advertising. The rules of this Regulation that provide for a high level of transparency of political advertising services are based on Article 114 of the TFEU. This Regulation should also address the use of targeting and amplification techniques in the context of the publication, dissemination or promotion of political advertising that involve the processing of personal data. The rules of this Regulation that address the use of targeting and amplification are based on Article 16 of the TFEU. Political advertising directed to individuals in a Member State should include advertising entirely prepared, placed or published by service providers established outside the Union but disseminated to individuals in the Union. To determine whether a political advertisement is directed to individuals in a Member State, account should be taken of factors linking it to that Member State, including the language, context, content and objective of the advertisement and its means of dissemination.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Practical information fromissued by the official sources recognised as such by the Member States, regarding the organisation and modalities for participation in the elections or referendums should not constitute political advertising.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) The notion of political advertising services should not include messages that are shared by individuals in their purely personal capacity. Individuals should not be considered as acting in their personal capacity if they are publishing messages the dissemination or publication of which is paid for, directly or by means of an equivalent payment, by another person.
Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Freedom of expression as protected by Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights covers an individual’s right to hold political opinions, receive and impart political information and share political ideas without interference by the authorities and regardless of borders. Every limitation to it has to comply with Article 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and that freedom can be subject to modulations and restrictions where they are necessary, justified by the pursuit of a legitimate public interest and comply with the general principles of EU law, such as proportionality and legal certainty. That is inter alia the case where the political ideas are communicated through advertising service providers.
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) Transparency notices should be designed to raise user awareness and help the clear and readily accessible identification of the political advertisement as such. They should be designed to remain in place or remain accessible in the event a political advertisement is further disseminated for instance posted on another platform or forwarded between individuals. The information included in the transparency notice should be published when the publication of the political advertisements start and be retained for a period of one year after the last publication. The retained information should also include information about political advertising which was terminated or which was taken down by the publisher for a one-year period.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 44
Recital 44
(44) Information about the amounts spent on and the value of other benefits received in part or full exchange for political advertising services can usefully contribute to the political debate. It is necessary to ensure that an appropriate overview of political advertising activity can be obtained from the annual reports prepared by relevant political advertising publishers. To support oversight and accountability, such reporting should include information about expenditure on the targeting of political advertising in the relevant period, aggregated to campaign or candidate. To avoid disproportionate burdens, those transparency reporting obligations should not apply to enterprises qualifying under Article 3(1)-(3) of Directive 2013/34/EU.
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 63
Recital 63
(63) Member States authorities should ensure that infringements of the obligations laid down in this Regulation are sanctioned by administrative fines or financial penalties. When doing so, they should take into account the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement in view of the public interest at stake, the scope and kind of activities carried out, as well as the economic capacity of the infringer. In that context, the crucial role played by the obligations laid down in Article 7 for the effective pursuit of the objectives of the present Regulation should be taken into account. Furthermore, they should take into account whether the service provider concerned systematically or recurrently fails to comply with its obligations stemming from this Regulation, including by delaying the provision of information to interested entities, as well as, where relevant, whether the provider of political advertising services is active in several Member States. Financial penalties and administrative finpenalties shall in each individual case be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, with due regard to the provision of sufficient and accessible procedural safeguards, and in particular to ensure that the political debate remains open and accessible.
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 65
Recital 65
(65) Member States should publish the exact duration of their electoral periods, established according to their legislation and electoral traditions, sufficiently in advance of the beginning of the electoral calendar.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 67
Recital 67
(67) Within two years after each election to the European Parliament, the Commission should submit a public report on the evaluation and review of this Regulationpresent an evaluation report on the applicability of this regulation and, if appropriate, proposals for a review thereof. In preparing that report the Commission should also take into account the implementation of this Regulation in the context of otherall elections and referendums taking place in the Union. The report should review inter alia the continued suitability of the provisions of this Regulation’s annexes and consider the need for their revision and the advisability thereof.
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) to protectvide harmonised levels of protection for natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data in connection with political advertising.
Amendment 263 #
2. ‘political advertising’ means the preparation, placement, promotion, publication or dissemination, by any means and for direct payment or equivalent consideration, of a message:
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Political advertising publishers shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 is complete and accurate, and where they find this is not the case, they shall not make available the political advertisement.
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c
(c) impose administrative fines and financial penalties.
Amendment 432 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
1. In relation to Articles 5 to 11, 13 and 14 Member States shall lay down rules on sanctions including administrative fines and financial penalties applicable to providers of political advertising services under their jurisdiction for infringements of the present Regulation, which shall in each individual case be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Amendment 433 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the infringement;
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 5
Article 16 – paragraph 5
5. If a service provider intentionally or negligently infringes the provisions of this regulation, for the same or linked political advertising, the total amount of the administrative fine shall be sufficiently adjustable in order to take into account all the relevant factors; the fact that the Regulation has been violated in multiple respects shall be reflected in the amount of the total fine, in compliance with the principle of proportionality. If the sponsor were to provide information that could not be identified by the service provider as manifestly incorrect, resulting in a breach of this regulation, then the sponsor alone should be penalised.
Amendment 446 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Within two years after each election to the European Parliament and for the first time by 31 December 2026 at the latest, the Commission shall submit a report on the evaluation and review of this Regulationpresent an evaluation report on the applicability of this regulation and, if appropriate, proposals for a review thereof. This report shall assess the need for amendment to this Regulation and the advisability thereof. The report shall be made public.