The overarching objectives of the Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising is to provide for a harmonised approach throughout the European Union in relation to the transparency and targeting of political advertising. In broad terms, the Regulation aims to make it easier for voters to recognise political advertisements, to understand who is behind them and to know whether they have received a targeted advertisement, so that they are better placed to make informed choices during elections and referendums.
Under the Regulation, each political advertisement must be labelled and must come with a transparency notice, which will include information on who sponsored the advert; how much was spent on the advert or campaign; the source of funds behind the advert; the targeting criteria (if any); the advert dissemination period; and reach metrics. The Regulation entered into full force and became directly applicable in all Member States of the European Union on 10 October 2025.
The European Union (Political Advertising) Regulations 2025 (S.I. No. 474 of 2025), which were made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972, facilitate the implementation in Ireland of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. In summary, the national regulations provide for:
• the designation of An Coimisiún Toghcháin as Ireland’s national contact point;
• the designation of Coimisiún na Meán as the competent authority to supervise the compliance of the following entities with the obligations under Articles 7 to 17 of the Regulation –
the providers of intermediary services,
providers of audio-visual media services (as defined in section 2 of the Broadcasting Act 2009),
providers of a sound broadcasting service (as defined in section 2 of the Broadcasting Act 2009),
providers of online services designated under section 139E of the Broadcasting Act 2009, and
hosting service providers within the meaning of the Terrorist Content Online Regulation;
• the designation of An Coimisiún Toghcháin as the competent authority to supervise the compliance of all other entities with their obligations under the Regulation;
• assigning the Data Protection Commission as the competent authority for Articles 18 and 19 of the Regulation (i.e. the targeting provisions);
• the sanctions which may be applied by a competent authority in the event that an infringement of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 takes place; and
• the repeal of Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and section 140 of the Electoral Act 1992 respectively.
In accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/900, the European Union (Political Advertising) Regulations 2025 commenced on 10 October 2025.
Over the course of the development of the national regulations, my Department engaged with An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Coimisiún na Meán, the Data Protection Commission, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration having particular regard to the designation of competent authorities and the functions assigned to them.
Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 provided a regulatory framework to ensure transparency in respect of online political advertisements purchased for placement, display, promotion or dissemination during electoral periods. During electoral periods, the provisions of Part 4 required paid-for online political advertisements to be clearly labelled as ‘political adverts’ and to be accompanied by a transparency notice setting out specified information for the recipients of such advertisements. It also provided that An Coimisiún Toghcháin would be the relevant authority responsible for enforcing the provisions.
Against this background, Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 lays down harmonised rules in respect of transparency of political advertising, the due diligence requirements on sponsors and political advertising providers, on the targeting of political advertising and on supervision and enforcement. Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 (and section 140 of the Electoral Act 1992) was repealed on the grounds that its provisions did not comply with the harmonised provisions set out in the Regulation. Key differences between the Regulation and Part 4 include:
• the scope of the Regulation is not confined solely to online political advertising, it applies to political advertising across all media;
• Part 4 was intended to apply to paid political advertising only. The Regulation also applies to political advertising developed in-house by political parties and candidates;
• the requirements of Regulation (EU) apply to sponsors and to entities throughout the political advertising value chain while the requirements of Part 4 were only intended to apply to the purchasers of online political advertising and to online platforms;
• Part 4 did not place any restrictions on the use of targeting or amplification techniques, it simply required that the use of such measures be declared on a transparency notice. The Regulation prohibits the use of sensitive personal information for the purpose of targeting political advertising; and
• the enforcement provisions under Part 4 assigned An Coimisiún Toghcháin as the sole competent authority while the enforcement provisions in the Regulation explicitly provides roles for each Member State's Digital Services Coordinator (for intermediary service providers) and data protection authority (for the targeting provisions) as well as for other competent authorities in respect of the obligations on other entities.
