Meta will stop all political, electoral, and social issue advertising in Europe from October 2025, following new EU rules. Google announced a similar move in November 2024, signalling a major change for political campaigns online.
The law, known as the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA), was meant to stop foreign election interference and harmonise fragmented rules. However, its scope expanded, catching think tanks, NGOs, and civil society groups in the same net as political parties.
From October, political or policy-focused organisations will not be able to run targeted ads on Google or Meta. This applies not only during elections but whenever an ad aims to influence legislation or regulation at any level.
Platforms say the rules create high compliance costs and force disclosure of detailed advertising practices, reducing ad effectiveness. Obligations include transparency labels, public notes showing amounts spent, targeting methods, and even internal ad policies kept for seven years.
Under Article 18, targeted political ads will require explicit user consent, which can be withdrawn at any time. Using personal data like ethnicity or political opinions for targeting will be banned, making personalised ads effectively impossible.
Advocacy groups fear higher costs, reduced reach, and reliance on broad, less specific audiences. Meanwhile, well-funded or foreign-backed actors with large databases and influencer networks may adapt more easily.
Only Estonia and Austria abstained from the March 2024 vote, with Hungary voting against. Critics now warn these rules could unintentionally silence smaller democratic voices while leaving space for more opaque players.
