A Note on the Proposed Law for Improving the Transparency of Political Advertising in the European Union

TL;DR

This paper reviews the 2020 EU proposal aimed at enhancing transparency in political advertising, discussing its limitations and potential effects on electoral integrity and citizens' rights.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis of the proposed EU regulation on political advertising transparency, highlighting its potential strengths and weaknesses.

Findings

Identifies limitations of the proposed regulation.

Discusses potential impacts on electoral integrity.

Raises concerns about implementation challenges.

Abstract

There is an increasing supply and demand for political advertising throughout the world. At the same time, societal threats, such as election interference by foreign governments and other bad actors, continues to be a pressing concern in many democracies. Furthermore, manipulation of electoral outcomes, whether by foreign or domestic forces, continues to be a concern of many citizens who are also worried about their fundamental rights. To these ends, the European Union (EU) has launched several initiatives for tackling the issues. A new regulation was proposed in 2020 also for improving the transparency of political advertising in the union. This short commentary reviews the regulation proposed and raises a few points about its limitations and potential impacts.