169 Amendments of Christel SCHALDEMOSE related to 2021/0381(COD)
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The supply of and demand for political advertising are growing and increasingly cross-border in nature. A large, diversified and increasing number of services are associated with that activity, such as political consultancies, advertising agencies, “ad-tech” platforms, public relations firms, influencers and various data analytics and brokerage operators. Political advertising can take many forms including paid content, sponsored search results, paid targeted messages, promotion in rankings, promotion of something or someone integrated into content such as product placement, influencers and other endorsements. Related activities can involve for instance the dissemination of political advertising upon request of a sponsor or the publication of content against payment or other forms of remuneration, including benefits in kind.
Amendment 145 #
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, online and offline. The latter are not only particularly prone to be offered cross- border, but also raise novel and difficult regulatory and enforcement challenges. 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.
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The need to ensure transparency and due diligence 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 exercise their democratic rights in an informed manner. A high level of transparency and due diligence 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 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 make informed choices. In the context of political advertising, transparency has two layers: at the level of each individual ad and at the level of political campaigns. Each political ad should be recognizable by citizens and contain within it essential information about its political nature, its sponsor, and the use of targeting. Transparency at the level of political campaigns can be obtained by the creation of universal, public advertising repositories, containing all instances of political advertising, as well as detailed information about its characteristics. Due diligence obligations for sponsors and providers of political advertising services are important to ensure transparency, but also a fair distribution of burdens between all actors in the value chain of political advertising.
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In the context of political advertising, targeting and ad delivery techniques are frequently used. Targeting or amplification techniques should be understood as techniques that are used either to address a tailored political advertisement only to a specific person or group of persons or to increase the circulation, reach or visibility of a political advertisement. Given the power and the potential for the misuse of personal data of targeting, including through microtargeting and other advanced techniques, such techniques may present particular threats to legitimate public interests, such as fairness, equal opportunities and transparency in the electoral process and the fundamental right to be informed by the sponsors of the ads to define the potential audience of a political advertisement, that is, a group of individuals who are eligible to be displayed the ad. Ad delivery techniques should be understood as techniques that are used by publishers of advertising and/or the platforms where ads are featured, to deliver advertisements to specific individuals included within the group of individuals that constitute the targeted audience. Automated ad delivery techniques use provided, observed and inferred data about individuals, as well as data on the content of the advertisement. The purpose of automated ad delivery techniques is to extract greater impact from the delivery of the ads to individuals, by delivering each advertisement to those individuals most likely to react in specific manners to the advertisement displayed to them. The use of these techniques often relies on the use of massive amounts of inferred data. The inferential analyses conducted by machine-learning algorithms deployed by platforms are not easy to understand, neither conceptually nor in the substance of the analysis, by the citizens who see ads, rendering an objective, transparent and pluralistic wayy possible transparency measures meaningless.
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5 a) Given the power and the potential for the misuse of personal data when targeting, including through microtargeting and other advanced techniques, and delivering advertising online, the use of such techniques for the purpose of political advertising presents particular threats to legitimate public interests, such as fairness, equal opportunities and transparency in the electoral process and the fundamental rights to be informed in an objective, transparent and pluralistic way without increasing information asymmetry, polarisation and "filter bubbles" and be treated equally indifferent of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6 a) Providers of political advertising services should not discriminate against sponsors legally established in the Union on grounds of their place of residence or establishment, as it would harm the possibility for the conduction of cross- border political campaigns, essential to foster a European public sphere. Refusal to provide services in a Member State where providers of political advertising services do not conduct business does not constitute discrimination.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) This situation leads to the fragmentation of the internal market, decreases legal certainty for providers of political advertising services preparing, placing, publishing or disseminating political advertisements, creates barriers to the free movement of related services, distorts competition in the internal market, including between offline and online service providers as a consequence of the disparity of compliance obligations, and requires complex compliance efforts and additional costs for relevant service providers.
Amendment 164 #
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, promotion, 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.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) This Regulation should not affect the substantive content of political advertising nor rules regulating the displayUnion or Member States rules regulating the content of political advertisement, presentation of political advertising, including so-called silence periods preceding elections or referendums, and rules regarding the organisation and conduct of political campaigning.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Regulation should provide for harmonised transparency and due diligence requirements applicable to economic actors providing political advertising and related services (i.e. activities that are normally provided for remuneration); 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 amplificationd delivery 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 amplificationd delivery are based on Article 16 of the TFEU. Political advertising directed to individuals in a Member State should include advertising entirely prepared, placed or publish, promoted, published or disseminated 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 language, context, objective of the advertisement and its means of dissemination.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The definition of political advertising should include advertising presented, promoted, published or disseminated directly or indirectly by or presented, promoted, published or disseminated directly or indirectly for or on behalf of a political actor. Since advertisements by, for or on behalf of a political actor cannot be detached from their activity in their role as political actor, they can be presumed to be liable to influence the political debate, except for messages of purely private or purely commercial nature.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) The promotion, publication or dissemination by other actors of a message that is liable to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, legislative or regulatory process or voting behaviour at Union, national, regional, local or at a political party level, should also constitute political advertising. In order to determine whether the promotion, publication or dissemination of a message is liable to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, a legislative or regulatory process or voting behaviour, account should be taken of all relevant factors such as the content of the message, the language used to convey the message, the potential audience targeted by the sponsor, the context in which the message is conveyed, the objective of the message and the means by which the message is promoted, published or disseminated. Messages on societal or controversial issues may, as the case may be, bare liable to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, a legislative or regulatory process or voting behaviour and should fall within the scope of this Regulation.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17 a (new)
Recital 17 a (new)
(17 a) Communication of a political party with its members is an inherent part of the membership in a political party and should not constitute political advertising.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Political views expressed in the programmes of audiovisual linear broadcasts or published in printed mediaunder the editorial responsibility of a media service provider without direct payment or equivalent remuneration should not be covered by this Regulation. Editorial responsibility should be understood as the exercise of effective control both over the selection of the programmes or press publications and over their organisation, for the purposes of the provision of a media service
Amendment 195 #
(23) The concept of political actors should also include unelected officials, elected officials, candidates and members of Government at European, national, regional or local level, as well as governments, parliaments, Union bodies and international or intergovernmental organisations. Other political organisations should also be included in that definition.
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) An advertising campaign should refer to the preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of a series of linked advertisements in the course of a contract for political advertising, on the basis of common preparation, sponsorship and funding. It should include the preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of an advertisement or versions of an advertisement on different media and at different times within the same electoral cycle.
Amendment 201 #
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 by anothernvolves remuneration or benefits in kind from third parties.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) Once an advertisement is indicated as being connected to political advertising, this should be clearly indicated to other service providers involved in the political advertising services. In addition, once an advertisement has been identified as political advertisement, its further dissemination should still comply with transparency requirements. For instance, when sponsored contentlitical advertising as defined in this regulation is shared organically, the advertising should still be labelled as political advertisinginclude its label identifying it as political advertising and providing additional information.
Amendment 208 #
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. 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 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 212 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) As regards online intermediaries, Regulation (EU) 20212/XX [Digital Services Act] applies to political advertisements published or disseminaresented by online intermediaries through horizontal rules applicable to all types of online advertising, including commercial and political advertisements. Based on the definition of political advertising established in this Regulation, it is appropriate to provide additional granularity of the transparency requirements and rules for processing of personal data laid out for advertising publishers falling under the scope of Regulation (EU) 20212/XX [Digital Services Act], notably very large online platforms. This concerns in particular information related to the funding of political advertisements. The requirements of this Regulation leave unaffected the provisions of the Digital Services Act, including as regards risk assessment and mitigation obligations for very large online platforms as regards their advertising systems.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) The preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of political advertising can involve a complex chain of service providers. This is the case in particular where the selection of advertising content, the selection of targeting criteria, the provision of data used for the targeting of an advertisement, the provisions of targeting techniques, the delivery of an advertisement and its dissemination may be controlled by different service providers. For instance, automated services can support matching the profile of the user of an interface with the advertising content provided, using personal data collected directly from the user of the service and from the users’ online conduct, as well as inferred data.
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) In view of the importance of guaranteeing in particular the effectiveness of the transparency requirements including to ease their oversight and fairly distribute the responsibility for compliance, providers of political advertising services should ensure that the relevant information they collect in the provision of their services, including the indication that an advertisement is political, is verified and provided to the political advertising publisher which brings the political advertisement to the public. In order to support the efficient implementation of this requirement, and the timely and accurate provision of this information, providers of political advertising services should consider and supporttransmit that information at the same time with the provision of the relevant service and automatinge the transmission of information among providers of political advertising services. When providers of political advertising services become aware that information which they have transmitted has been updated, they should ensure that this updated information is communicated to the relevant political advertising publisher.
Amendment 218 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) While providing for specific requirements, none of the obligations laid down in this Regulation should be understood as imposing a general monitoring obligation on intermediary service providers for political content shared organically by natural or legal persons, nor should they be understood as imposing a general obligation on intermediary service providers to take proactive measures in relation to illegal content or activities which those providers transmit or store.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) Transparency of political advertising should enable citizens to understand that they are confronted with a political advertisement and obtain information about the sponsor and the political campaign it is a part of. Political advertising publishers should ensure the publication in connection to each political advertisement of a clear statement to the effect that it is a political advertisement and of the identity of its sponsor. Where appropriate, the name of the sponsor could include a political logo. Political advertising publishers should make use of labelling which is effective, taking into account developments in relevant scientific research and best practice on the provision of transparency through the labelling of advertising. They should also ensure the publication in connection to each political advertisement of information to enable the wider context of the political advertisement and its aims to be understood, which can either be included in the advertisement itself, or be provided by the publisher on its website, accessible through a link, a QR code, or equivalent clear and user-friendly direction included in the advertisement.
Amendment 225 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) This information should be provided in a transparency notice which should also include the identity of the sponsor, in order to support accountability in the political process. The place of establishment of the sponsor and whether the sponsor is a natural or legal person should be clearly indicated, as well as who is the entity ultimately controlling or funding the sponsor. Personal data concerning individuals involved in political advertising, unrelated to the sponsor or other involved political actor should not be provided in the transparency notice. The transparency notice should also contain information on the dissemination period, any linked election, the amount spent for and the value of other benefits received in part or full exchange for the specific advertisement as well for the entire advertising campaign, the source of the funds used and other information to ensure the fairness of the dissemination of the political advertisement. Information on the source of the funds used concerns for instance its public or private origin, the fact that it originates from inside or outside the European Union. Information concerning linked elections or referendums should include, when possible, a link to information from official sources regarding the organisation and modalities for participation or for promoting participation in those elections or referendums. The transparency notice should further include information on how to flag political advertisements in accordance with the procedure established in this Regulation. This requirement should be without prejudice to provisions on notification according to Article 14, 15 and 19 of Regulation (EU) 20212/XXX [Digital Services Act].
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) The information to be included in the transparency notice should be provided in the advertisement itself or be easily retrievable on the basis of an indication provided in the advertisement. The requirement that the information about the transparency notice is to be inter alia clearly visible should entail that it features prominently in or with the advertisement. The requirement that information published in the transparency notice is to be easily accessible, machine readable where technically possible, and user friendly should entail that it addresses the needs of people with disabilities. Annex I of Directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act) contains accessibility requirements for information, including digital information that should be used to render political information accessible for persons with disabilities. Where appropriate, political advertising in the form of audiovisual media should include subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, sign language interpretation, audio description and spoken subtitles.
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Since political advertising publishers make political advertisements available to the public, they should publish or disseminate that information to the public together with the publication or dissemination of the political advertisement. Political advertising publishers should not make available to the public those political advertisements not fulfilling the transparency requirements under this Regulation. In addition, political advertising publishers which are very large online platforms within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2021/XXX [Digital Services Act] should make the information contained in the transparency notice available through the repositories of advertisements published pursuant to Article 30 Regulation [Digital Services Act] . This will facilitate the work of interested actors including researchers in their specific role to support free and fair elections or referendums and fair electoral campaigns including by scrutinising the sponsors of political advertisement and analysing the political advertisement landscape.
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42 a (new)
Recital 42 a (new)
(42 a) Political advertising publishers should make the information contained in the transparency notice available through a European Repository for Political Advertising. This repository should include, for each instance of political advertisement, a copy of it and the information available through the transparency rules laid down in this regulation. Information about removed political advertisement and the reason for its withdrawal should also be available in the repository. The repository, established by the Commission, will avoid the multiplication of burdens in the set up of the infrastructure to host this information, which would be particularly damaging for smaller providers. Use should be made of interoperability solutions and reporting duplications should be avoided. It should enable the public to search, in a single location, information about all political advertisements, and it should enable advanced searches by sponsor or election. This will facilitate the work of interested actors including researchers and journalists in their specific role to support and scrutinise free and fair elections or referendums and fair electoral campaigns, including by scrutinising the sponsors and sources of funding of political advertisement and analysing the political advertisement landscape.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42 b (new)
Recital 42 b (new)
(42 b) In order to allow specific entities to play their role in democracies, it is appropriate to facilitate access through the European Repository for Political Advertising to interested actors such as vetted researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, open-source intelligence (OSINT) communities, and accredited election observers, in order to support the performance of their respective roles in the democratic process.
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) Where the provider of the political advertising service which hosts or otherwise stores and provides the content of a political advertisement is separate from the provider of the political advertising service which controls the website or other interface which eventually displaypresents the political advertisement, these should be considered together as advertising publishers, with respective responsibility in respect of the specific service they provide, to ensure that labelling is provided and that the transparency notice and relevant information is available and correct. Their contractual arrangements should reflect the way they organise compliance with this Regulation.
Amendment 237 #
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 relevantproviders of political advertising publisherservices. To support oversight and accountability, such reporting should include detailed 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(3) of Directive 2013/34/EU.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
Recital 46
Amendment 247 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
Recital 49
(49) In order to ensure enhanced transparency and accountability, when making use of targeting and amplificationd delivery techniques in the context of political advertising involving the processing of provided personal data, controllers should implement additional safeguards. They should adopt and implement a policy describing the use of such techniques to target individuals or amplify their content and keep record of their relevant activities. When publishing, promoting or disseminating a political advertisement making use of targeting and amplificationd delivery techniques, controllers should provide, together with the political advertisement, meaningful information to allow the concerned individual to understand the logic involved and main parameters of the targeting used, the relevant decisive parameter or set of decisive parameters determining why the user sees an advertisement, and the use of third-party data and additional analytical techniques, including whether the targeting of the advertisement was further optimised during delivery.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 50
Recital 50
(50) Political advertising publishers making use of targeting or amplificationd delivery techniques should include in their transparency notice information necessary to allow the concerned individual to understand the logic involved and main parameters of the technique used, the relevant decisive parameter or set of decisive parameters determining why the user sees an advertisement and the use of third-party data and additional analytical techniques used and a link to the relevant policy of the controller. In case the controller is different from the advertising publisher the controller should transmit to political advertising publisher the internal policy or a reference to it. Providers of advertising services should, as necessary, transmit to the political advertising publisher the information necessary to comply with their obligations under this Regulation. The provision of such information could be automated and integrated in the ordinary business processes on the basis of standards.
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 53
Recital 53
(53) Information to be provided in accordance with all requirements applicable to the use of targeting and amplificationd delivery techniques under this Regulation should be presented in a format which is easily accessible, clearly visible and user- friendly, including through the use of plain language.
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) PSponsors of political advertising or providers of political advertising services established in a third country that offer services in the Union should designate a mandated legal representative in the Union to allow for effective oversight of this Regulation in relation to those providers. TIn the case of providers, the legal representative could be the one designated on the basis of Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679) or the representative designated on the basis of Article 113 of Regulation (EU) 20212/xxx [the DSA].
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 58
Recital 58
(58) For the oversight of those aspects of this Regulation that do not fall within the competence of the supervisory authorities under Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Regulation (EU) 2018/725, and Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [Digital Services Act] Member States should designate competent authorities. To support the upholding of fundamental rights and freedoms, the rule of law, democratic principles and public confidence in the oversight of political advertising it is necessary that such authorities are structurally independent from external intervention or political pressure and are appropriately empowered effectively monitor and take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with this Regulation, in particular the obligations laid down in Article 7. Member States may designate, in particular, the national regulatory authorities or bodies under Article 30 of Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council13 . _________________ 13 Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive (OJ L 95, 15.4.2010, p. 1).
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 60
Recital 60
(60) Authorities competent for the oversight of this Regulation should cooperate with each other both at national and at EU level making best use of existing structures including national cooperation networks, the European Cooperation Network on Elections as referred to in Recommendation C(2018) 5949 final, the European Board for Digital Services as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [Digital Services Act] and the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services established under Directive 2010/13/EU. Such cooperation should facilitate the swift, secured exchange of information on issues connected to the exercise of their supervisory and enforcements tasks pursuant to this Regulation, including by jointly identifying infringements, sharing findings and expertise, and liaising on the application and enforcement of relevant rules.
Amendment 262 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 62
Recital 62
(62) Member States should designate a national contact point at Union level for the purpose of this Regulation. The contact point should, if possible, be a member of the European Cooperation Network on Elections. The contact point should facilitatensure cooperation among competent authorities between Member States in their supervision and enforcement tasks, in particular by intermediating with the contact points in other Member States and with other competent authorities in their own.
Amendment 263 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 65
Recital 65
(65) Member States should publish the exact duration of their electoral periods, established according to their electoral traditions, sufficiently in advance of the beginning of the electoral calendar. Providers of advertising services and political advertising publishers should refer to these publications in order to ascertain whether an electoral period is underway in any given jurisdiction.
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 66
Recital 66
(66) In order to fulfil the objectives of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission in respect of Articles 7(1a) and 7(7) to further specify the form in which the requirements for the transparency labelling and the provision of information in the transparency notices according to that Article should be provided; and in respect of Article 12(81a(6) to further specify the form in which the requirements of the provision of information about targeting should be providedobligations of providers of very large online platforms regarding the presentation of political advertisements by European political parties during elections to the European Parliament. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations, including of experts designated by each Member State, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) harmonised transparency and due diligence obligations for providers of political advertising and related services, including sponsors and publishers of political advertising, to retain, disclose, verify, and publish information connected to the provision of such services;
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) harmonised rules on the use of targeting and amplificationd delivery techniques in the context of the publication, dissemination or promotion of political advertising that involve the useprocessing of personal data.
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point a
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
(a a) to set out rules for a safe, predictable and trusted market of political advertising and related services, ensuring that fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter are effectively protected
Amendment 285 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
(b a) to ensure the respect of the values referred to in Article 2 TEU, in particular the respect for democracy and freedom, by guaranteeing that citizens can exercise their democratic rights in an informed manner and free from manipulation
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i
(i) Regulation (EU) 20212/xxx [the Digital Services Act].
Amendment 291 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i a (new)
(i a) Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [the Digital Markets Act];
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i b (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i b (new)
(i b) Regulation (EU) 2016/679;
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i c (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i c (new)
(i c) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725;
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i d (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 – point i d (new)
(i d) Regulation (EU) 2016/680.
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
2. ‘political advertising’ means a service consisting of the preparation, placement, promotion, publication or dissemination, by any means, of a message:
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
(b) which is liable to influence voting behaviour or the outcome of an election or referendum, a legislative or regulatory process; or voting behaviour.
Amendment 310 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b a (new)
(b a) which seeks to influence public opinion on broad societal issues.
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c a (new)
(c a) a government, bodies of governments with or without legal personality, a local government, bodies of local governments with or without legal personality and public foundations thereof;
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c b (new)
(c b) national, regional and local parliaments;
Amendment 315 #
(c c) a Union institution and its bodies with or without legal personality;
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c d (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point c d (new)
(c d) international and intergovernmental organisations;
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point g
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point g
(g) a political campaign organisation with or without legal personality, established to achieve a specificinfluence the outcome inof an election or referendum;
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Amendment 327 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
6 a. ‘editorial responsibility’ means the exercise of effective control both over the selection of the programmes or press publications and over their organisation, for the purposes of the provision of a media service, regardless of the existence of liability under national law for the service provided;
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 b (new)
6 b. ‘provider of very large online platform’ means a provider of an online platform that has been designated as a very large online platform pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/XXX [Digital Services Act];
Amendment 332 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
8. ‘targeting or amplification techniques’ means techniques that are used either to address a tailored poliavailable to and used by the sponsors of advertisements to determine the potentical advertisement only to a specific person or group of persons or to increase the circulation, reach or visibility of a politicaludience of an advertisement, that is, a group of individuals who are eligible to be displayed the advertisement or groups of individuals who are excluded from being displayed the advertisement;
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
8 a. ‘ad delivery techniques’ means automated techniques used by publishers or other providers of advertising services involved in the publishing and dissemination of ads to deliver advertisements to specific individuals included in the group of individuals that constitute the potential audience as defined by the sponsors of the political advertisement;
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
9. ‘electoral period’ means the period preceding or during or immediately after an election or referendum in a Member State, as defined in national or Union legislation, and during which the campaign activities are subject to specific rules;
Amendment 343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
11. ‘political advertising publisher’ means a natural or legal person that broadcasts, presents, makes available through an interface or otherwise brings to the public domain political advertising through any medium;
Amendment 345 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
12. ‘controller’ means a controller according to Article 4(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or, where applicable, to Article 4(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.;
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 a (new)
12 a. ‘provided personal data’ means personal data actively provided by the data subject to a data processor;
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 b (new)
12 b. ‘observed personal data’ means personal data provided by the data subject by virtue of using a service or device;
Amendment 350 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 c (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 c (new)
12 c. ‘inferred personal data’ means personal data created by the data controller on the basis of the data provided by the data subject or as observed by the controller.
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Political views expressed under the editorial responsibility of a media service provider and placed, promoted, or disseminated without any form of remuneration from a third party, shall not fall under the scope of this Regulation.
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a Non-discrimination Providers of political advertising services shall not discriminate against sponsors legally established in the Union on grounds of their place of residence or establishment.
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter II – title
Chapter II – title
II TRANSPARENCY, DUE DILIGENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY OBLIGATIONS FOR POLITICAL ADVERTISING SERVICES
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Political advertising services shall be diligently provided in a transparent and accessible manner in accordance with the obligations laid down in Articles 54a to 110 and 14 of this Regulation.
Amendment 364 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Providers of political advertising services shall ensure that the contractual arrangements concluded for the provision of a political advertising service specify how the provisions of this Regulation are complied with and allow them to fulfil effectively their due diligence obligations.
Amendment 365 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a Accessibility 1. Political advertising publishers shall ensure that political advertisements and the transparency obligations laid down in articles 5 to 10 of this Regulation are accessible to persons with disabilities by complying with relevant accessibility requirements laid down in Annex I of Directive (EU) 2019/881. 2. Political advertising in the form of audiovisual media shall be made accessible by providing the information through more than one sensory channel.
Amendment 369 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Providers of advertising services shall request sponsors and providers of advertising services acting on behalf of sponsors to declare whether the advertising service they request the service provider to perform constitutes a political advertising service within the meaning of Article 2(52). Sponsors and providers of advertising services acting on behalf of sponsors shall make such a declaration.
Amendment 370 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Providers of political advertising shall check whether the declaration provided by the sponsor or providers of political advertising services acting on behalf of sponsors is accurate prior to the publication or dissemination of the political advertisement.
Amendment 373 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Amendment 379 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 a (new)
Article 5 a (new)
Article 5 a Identification of a political advertisement For the purpose of determining whether a message constitutes political advertising within the meaning of Article 2(2)(b) and 2(2)(c), account shall be taken of all its features, and in particular of the following: (a) the content; (b) the language used to convey the message; (c) the means by which the message is promoted, published or disseminated; (d) the potential audience targeted by the sponsor; (e) the context in which the message is conveyed, including the period of dissemination such as electoral or referendum periods; (f) whether the message is designed to influence the relevant electorate; (g) the objective of the message.
Amendment 385 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) the amounts they invoiced for the service or services provided, and the value of other benefits received in part or full exchange for the service or services provided and their sources; and
Amendment 386 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) where applicable, the identity of the sponsor and its contact details and, where applicable, the identity and contact details of the entity or person ultimately controlling the sponsor.
Amendment 392 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be in writing and may be in electronic form. Such information shall be retained for a period of five years from the date of the last preparation, placement, promotion, publication or dissemination, as the case may be.
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. Providers of political advertising services shall ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 is communicated to the political advertising publisher which will disseminate the political advertisement to enable political advertising publishers to comply with their obligations under this Regulation. That information shall be transmitted, in a timely and accurate manner in accordance with best practice and industry standards, by means of a standardised automated process where technically possible.
Amendment 398 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. In the context of the provision of political advertising services, each political advertisement shall be made available withby the publisher to the recipients of their service through a short transparency notice presented within the advertisement containing the following information in a clear, salient and unambiguous way:
Amendment 400 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) a clear statement to the effect that it is a political advertisement;
Amendment 402 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the identity of the sponsor of the political advertisement and the person or entity ultimately controlling or funding the sponsor;
Amendment 406 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) a transparency notice to enable the understanding by the recipient of the service of the wider context of the political advertisement and its aims to be understood, or a clear indication of where it can be easily retrieved.;
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(c a) where applicable, a statement that the advertisement is using targeting techniques based on the use of personal data and information on the data used for that purpose.
Amendment 413 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 to supplement this Regulation by laying down the necessary rules to establish a harmonised marking or labelling including the form and the content of the label or marking.
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The long transparency notice shall be included inpresented alongside each political advertisement or be easily retrievable from it, and shall be added to the European Repository for Political Advertising. It shall include the following information:
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) the identity of the sponsor, its place of establishment and contact details;
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(a a) where applicable, the identity of the person or entity ultimately controlling the sponsor, its place of establishment and contact details;
Amendment 424 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) based among others on information received in line with Article 6(3), exact information on the aggregated amounts spent or other benefits received in part or full exchange for the preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of the relevant advertisement, and of the political advertising campaign where relevantit is a part of, and their sources;
Amendment 426 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) where applicable, an indication of all elections or referendums with which the advertisement is linked and the relevant electoral period;
Amendment 427 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
(d a) where applicable, information on the use of targeting techniques based on the use of personal data, including the data used for that purpose;
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
(d b) where applicable, the number of views and engagements with the advertisement;
Amendment 429 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) where applicable, links to online repositories of aa link to the location where the advertisement is available in the European Repository for Political Advertisements;
Amendment 432 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(e a) where applicable, links to aggregate information on all advertisements that have been placed, promoted, published or disseminated on behalf of the same sponsor or political actor;
Amendment 434 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point g
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point g
Amendment 435 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)
The information to be included in the transparency notice shall be provided using the specific data fields set out in Annex I.
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Upon receiving the information referred to in paragraph, providers of political advertising services shall check whether the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided by the sponsor or providers of political advertising services acting on behalf of sponsors, is reliable, complete and up to date prior to the publication of the political advertisement.
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. PWhere the political advertising publishers shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 is becomes aware that the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 is incomplete or inaccurate, it shall request the sponsor or the relevant service providers, to correct or complete the information referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 in so far as it is necessary to ensure that all information is accurate, complete, and where they find this is not the case, tup to date, without undue delay. If the correction or completion of the information takes longer than 12 hours to occur, he political advertising publisheyr shall not make available the political advertisementsuspend or shall discontinue the publication or dissemination of the advertisement until the request is fully complied with.
Amendment 445 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 449 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 4
4. Transparency notices shall be kept up to date and presented in a format which is easily accessible and, where technically possible, machine readable, clearly visible and user friendly, including through the use of plain language. The information shall be published by the political advertising publisher with the political advertisement from its first publication until one year after its last publication and having due regard to accessibility requirements as laid out in Article 4a. The language of the transparency notice shall be the language of the political advertisement.
Amendment 453 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Political advertising publishers shall retain their transparency notices together with any modifications for a period of fifteen years after its last publication.
Amendment 459 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 5
Article 7 – paragraph 5
5. Political advertising publishers shall retain their transparency notices together with any modifications for a period of fivefteen years after the end of the period referred to in paragraph 4its last publication.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Article 7 – paragraph 6
Amendment 465 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 7
Article 7 – paragraph 7
Amendment 470 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 8
Article 7 – paragraph 8
8. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 to amend Annex I by adding, modifying or removing elements fromto the list of information to be provided pursuant to paragraph 2 where, in the light of technological developments, relevant scientific research and relevant guidance issued by competent authorities, such an amendment is necessary for the wider context of the political advertisement and its aims to be understood.
Amendment 472 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 a (new)
Article 7 a (new)
Article 7 a European Repository for Political Advertisements (ERPA) 1. The European Commission shall establish and ensure the management of a repository, the European Repository for Political Advertisements (ERPA), for the provision of information on political advertisement referred to Article 7(2). 2. Political advertising publishers shall ensure that they make available in the repository referred to in paragraph 1, in real time, starting from the moment of the first publication of each advertisement, each political advertisement published, as well as the information referred to in Article 7(2). The information must be detailed and include exact figures on the aggregated amounts spent or other benefits received in part or full exchange for the provision of the advertising service, both by the publisher and by any other service provider that contributed to the preparation, placement, promotion or dissemination of the advertisement. The repository shall contain all versions of each advertisement, where applicable. 3. Political advertisements shall be kept in ERPA for a period of fifteen years after the last publication of the advertisement
Amendment 477 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Where they provide political advertising services,Political advertising publishers shall include information on the amounts or the value of other benefits received in part or full exchange for those services, including on the use of targeting and amplificationd delivery techniques, aggregated by campaign, as part of their management report within the meaning of Article 19 of Directive 2013/34/EU in their annual financial statements.
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Amendment 488 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Where they provide political advertising services, advertising publishers shall put in place mechanisms to enable individuals or entities to notify them, free of charge and in a user friendly way, that a particular advertisement which they have published does not comply with this Regulation.
Amendment 500 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Political advertising publishers shall allow for the submission of the information referred to in paragraph 1 by electronic means. The political advertismechanisms referred to ing publisher shall inform individuals of the follow up given to the notification as referred to aragraph 1 shall be such as to facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated notifications, on the basis of which a diligent advertising paragraph 1ublisher can identify the illegality of the advertisement in question.
Amendment 504 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The political advertising publisher shall examine and address the notification referred to in paragraph 1 accordingly, in a diligent, objective and non- discriminatory manner and, without undue delay, inform individuals or entities of the follow up given to the notification as referred to in paragraph 1, providing information on the redress possibilities in respect of that decision. 30 days prior to an election or a referendum, political advertising publishers shall examine and address the notification within 24 hours.
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. Repetitive notifications under paragraph 1 regarding the same advertisement or advertising campaign may be responded to collectivelyby making use of automated tools, including by reference to an announcement on the website of the political advertising publisher concerned.
Amendment 510 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Political advertising publishers shall suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the processing of notices and complaints submitted through the mechanism referred to in paragraph 1 by individuals that frequently submit notices that are manifestly unfounded.
Amendment 511 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 b (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Online platforms within the meaning of Article 3(i) of Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [the DSA] that allow sponsors to publish political advertisements as defined in Article 2.2 of this Regulation shall take the necessary technical and organisation measures to ensure that notices submitted by trusted flaggers within the meaning of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [the DSA] whose designated area of expertise is political advertising are processed and decided upon with priority and without delay.
Amendment 513 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4 c (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Without prejudice to Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx [the DSA], the status of trusted flaggers of unlawful political advertisements shall only be awarded where the applicant has demonstrated to meet all of the following conditions: (a) it has particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying political advertisements which have not been declared as political by their sponsor or that do not comply with the obligations concerning the processing of personal data and/or transparency established in this Regulation; (b) it represents collective interests and is independent from any online platform, political party, political candidate, or government;
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Competent national authorities shall have the power to request that a provider of political advertising services transmits the information referred to in Articles 6, 7 and 8. The transmitted information must be complete, accurate and trustworthy, and provided in a clear, coherent, consolidated and intelligible format. Where technically possible, tThe information shall be transmitted in a machine readable format.
Amendment 522 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) a brief statement of reasons explaining the objective for which the information is requested and why the request is necessary and proportionate, unless the request pursues the objective of the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences and to the extent that the reasons for the request would jeopardise that objective;
Amendment 523 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. Upon receipt of a request pursuant to paragraph 1, providers of political advertising services shall, within two working day24 hours, acknowledge receipt of that request and inform the authority of the steps taken or to be taken to comply with it. The relevant service provider shall provide the requested information within tenfive working days.
Amendment 526 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 3
Article 10 – paragraph 3
3. Providers of political advertising services shall designate a contact point for the interaction with competent national authorities. Providers of political advertising services which are SMEs within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive 2013/34/EU may appoint an external natural person as contact point.
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11
Article 11
Amendment 549 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a Presentation of a set of standardised political advertisements of European Political Parties by providers of very large online platforms during the elections to the European Parliament 1. Providers of very large online platforms within the meaning of Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2022/XXXX [the DSA] shall, in the context of the elections to the European Parliament, present political advertisements by all European political parties within the meaning of Article 2(3) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, in accordance with the principle of equal access and free of cost. 2. The political advertisements referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted in a standardised format, defined by each provider of very large online platforms in accordance with specific criteria based on their rules for the display of advertisements. 3. Political advertisements referred to in paragraph 1 shall comply with all other provisions of this Regulation. 4. The time-period during which the political advertisements referred to in paragraph 1 may be displayed shall be limited to the relevant electoral period. 5. Each European political party shall be ensured a reasonable minimum visibility. Political advertisements shall be presented according to random allocation. 6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 supplementing this Regulation by defining the obligations of providers of very large online platforms regarding the presentation of the political advertisements referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 552 #
Proposal for a regulation
Chapter III – title
Chapter III – title
III TARGETING AND AMPLIFICATIOND DELIVERY OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING
Amendment 554 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – title
Article 12 – title
Specific requirements related to targeting and amplificationd delivery
Amendment 557 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3
Article 12 – paragraph 3
Amendment 560 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Article 12 – paragraph 4
Amendment 561 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Amendment 563 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 6
Article 12 – paragraph 6
Amendment 565 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 7
Article 12 – paragraph 7
Amendment 567 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 8
Article 12 – paragraph 8
Amendment 571 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13
Article 13
Amendment 572 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – title
Article 14 – title
Legal representatives of sponsors and service providers
Amendment 576 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Sponsors of political advertising placed, promoted and disseminated in the Union, or directed to individuals in one or several Member States, irrespective of the place of establishment of the advertising services provider, who are not Union citizens, are not legal residents, or have their place of establishment outside the Union, shall designate, in writing, a natural or legal person as their legal representative in one of the Member States.
Amendment 579 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. The Commission shall publish the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2a in a publicly available database in an easily accessible and machine- readable format and keep the database updated.
Amendment 586 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall designate competent authorities to monitor the compliance of providers of intermediary services within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2021/xxx [DSA] with the obligations laid down in Articles 5 to 11 and 14 of this Regulation, where applicable. The competent authorities designated under Regulation (EU) 2021/xxx [Digital Services Act] may also be one of the competent authorities designated to monitor the compliance of online intermediaries with the obligations laid down in Articles 5 to 11 and 14 of this Regulation. The Digital Services Coordinator referred to in Article 3849 of Regulation (EU) 2021/xxx in each Member State shall be responsible for ensuring coordination at national level in respect of providers of intermediary services as defined by Regulation (EU) 2021/xxx [Digital Services Act]. Article 458(1) to (4) and Article 460(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/xxx [Digital Services Act] shall be applicable for matters related to the application of this Regulation as regards providers of intermediary services.
Amendment 596 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 4
Article 15 – paragraph 4
4. Competent authorities referred to in paragraph 3, where exercising their supervisory tasks in relation to this Regulation, shall have the power to request to access to data, documents or any necessary information from providers of political advertising services for the performance of their supervisory tasks. Competent authorities shall use that data accessed only for the purpose of monitoring and assessing compliance with this Regulation and shall take due account of the rights and interests of the providers of political advertising and the recipients of the service concerned, including the protection of personal data, the protection of confidential information, and maintaining the security of their service.
Amendment 601 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point a a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point a a (new)
(a a) request access to data, documents, or any necessary information from the providers of political advertising services
Amendment 602 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point a b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point a b (new)
(a b) order the cessation of infringements and, where appropriate, to impose remedies proportionate to the infringement and necessary to bring the infringement effectively to an end, or request a judicial authority in their Member State to do so;
Amendment 604 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c a (new)
(c a) carry out, or request a judicial authority in their Member State to order, inspections of any premises that providers of political advertising services use for purposes related to their trade, business, craft or profession, or to request other public authorities to do so, in order to examine, seize, take or obtain copies of information relating to a suspected infringement in any form, irrespective of the storage medium;
Amendment 607 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 5 – point c b (new)
(c b) promote media and digital literacy programmes to foster the knowledge, skills and understanding that allow both, citizens and political advertising service providers, to engage effectively with the publication and dissemination of political advertising, and to ensure compliance with and the enforcement of this Regulation.
Amendment 614 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 7
Article 15 – paragraph 7
7. Each Member State shall designate one competent authority as a national contact point at Union level for the purposes of this Regulation. National contact points shall ensure good cooperation between national competent authorities and with other contact points and Union level authorities. Member States shall make publicly available and communicate to the Commission the name of their contact point and information on how it can be contacted.
Amendment 620 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 8 – point a
Article 15 – paragraph 8 – point a
(a) the competent authorities applying supervisory or enforcement measures in a Member State shall, via the contact point referred to in paragraph 7, inform and consult the competent authorities in the other Member State(s) concerned on the supervisory and enforcement measures taken and their follow-up without undue delay;
Amendment 627 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 8 – point c
Article 15 – paragraph 8 – point c
(c) a competent authority shall, upon receipt of a justified request from another competent authority, provide the other competent authority with assistance so that the supervision or enforcement measures referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 can be implemented in an effective, efficient and consistent manner. The relevant competent authority so requested shall, via the contact points referred to in paragraph 7 and, within a timeframe proportionate to the urgency of the requestout undue delay, provide a response communicating the information requested, or informing that it does not consider that the conditions for requesting assistance under this Regulation have been met. Any information exchanged in the context of assistance requested and provided under this Article shall be used only in respect of the matter for which it was requested.
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 9
Article 15 – paragraph 9
9. Contact points shall meet periodicallyat least twice a year at Union level in the framework of the European Cooperation Network on Elections to facilitate the swift and secured exchange of information on issues connected to the exercise of their supervisory and enforcements tasks pursuant to this Regulation.
Amendment 634 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a Non-compliance 1. The competent authorities shall adopt a non-compliance decision where it finds that the sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned does not comply with the relevant provisions of this Regulation. 2. Before adopting the decision pursuant to paragraph 1, the competent authority shall communicate its preliminary findings to the sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned. In the preliminary findings, the competent authority shall explain the measures that it considers taking, or that it considers that the sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned should take, in order to effectively address the preliminary findings. 3. In the decision adopted pursuant to paragraph 1 the competent authority shall order the sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 within a reasonable time period specified therein and to provide information on the measures that that they intend to take to comply with the decision. 4. The sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned shall provide the competent authority with a description of the measures it has taken to ensure compliance with the decision pursuant to paragraph 1 upon their implementation. 5. The sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned shall inform the competent authorities, within 30 days of the decision adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, about measures it has taken to ensure the future risk of non- compliance has been mitigated. 6. Where the competent authorities find that the conditions of paragraph 1 are not met, it shall close the investigation by a decision. The decision shall apply with immediate effect. 7. In the decision referred to in paragraph 6, the competent authorities may impose sanctions on the sponsor or the provider of political advertisement services concerned as referred to in Article 16.
Amendment 640 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
1. In relation to Articles 54a to 110, 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 642 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Member States shall ensure that the minimum amount of fines that may be imposed for a failure to comply with an obligation laid down in this Regulation shall be 2 % of the annual worldwide turnover of the provider of political advertising services concerned in the preceding financial year.
Amendment 643 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Member States shall ensure that the minimum amount of the fine that may be imposed for the supply of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information, failure to reply or rectify incorrect, incomplete or misleading information shall be 1 % of the annual income or worldwide turnover of the provider of political advertising services concerned in the preceding financial year.
Amendment 644 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2 c (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Member States shall ensure that the minimum amount of a periodic penalty payment shall be 0.1 % of the average daily worldwide turnover or income of the provider of political advertising services concerned in the preceding financial year per day, calculated from the date specified in the decision concerned.
Amendment 647 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 4
Article 16 – paragraph 4
4. Infringements of Article 7 shall be considered to be particularly serious where they concern political advertising published or disseminated during an electoral period and directed to citizens in the Member State in which the relevant election is being organiseds 5, 7, 7a and 12 of the present Regulation shall be considered to be particularly serious.
Amendment 650 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Infringements of the present Regulation by political advertisements promoted, published or disseminated during an electoral period and directed to citizens in the Member State in which the relevant election is being organised shall be considered particularly serious.
Amendment 652 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16 a Right to lodge a complaint Any person, organisation or association mandated to exercise the rights conferred by this Regulation on their behalf shall have the right to lodge a complaint against providers of political advertising, publishers and sponsors alleging an infringement of this Regulation with the contact point of the Member State where the person is located or established. During these proceedings, both parties shall have the right to be heard and receive appropriate information about the status of the complaint, in accordance with national law. Where the complaint falls under the responsibility of another competent authority in its Member State, the contact point receiving the complaint shall transmit it to that authority within ten working days. The competent authority receiving the complaint shall assess, and where appropriate, act within fifteen working days. During electoral periods, the assessment shall happen within five working days.
Amendment 653 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 b (new)
Article 16 b (new)
Amendment 655 #
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 Regulation. This report shall be made public and assess the need for amendment to this Regulation. The report shall be made public, in particular with regard to: (a) the scope of the Regulation and the application of Article 2, including the definition of political advertising in Article 2 (2); (b) the application of Articles 5, 7 and 12; (c) the application of Articles 15 and 16; (d) the interplay of this regulation with the legal acts referred to in Article 1(4).
Amendment 659 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 7(1a), 7(8) and Article 12(811a(6) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of [until the application of this regulation is evaluated, two years after the next European Parliamentary elections].
Amendment 661 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3
Article 19 – paragraph 3
3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 7(1a), 7(8) and Article 12(811a(6) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
Amendment 664 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 5
Article 19 – paragraph 5
5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 7(8) or Article 12(8s 7(1a), 7(8) and 11a(6) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Amendment 669 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – point a
Annex I – point a
(a) where the notice is not within the advertisement itself, an example/representation copy of the political advertisement or a link to it.
Amendment 670 #
(b) the identity and place of establishment of the sponsor on behalf of whom the advertisement is disseminated including their name, address, verified telephone number and verified electronic mail address, and whether they are a natural or legal entity.
Amendment 676 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – point d
Annex I – point d
(d) any election or referendum with which the advertising is linked, if applicable.
Amendment 677 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – point e
Annex I – point e
(e) the provisional aggregated amount spent on, and the value of other benefits received in part or full exchange for the specific advertisement, and on the specific advertising campaign where relevantapplicable, including on the preparation, placement, promotion, publication and dissemination of the political advertisements, as well as the aggregated actual amount spent and the value of other benefits received once known, periodically updated.
Amendment 681 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – point h
Annex I – point h
(h) where the publisher is a very large online platform, a link to the advertisement’s location in the publisher’s advertising repository.a link to the advertisement’s location in the European Repository for Political Advertisements
Amendment 682 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II
Annex II