EU RULES AIM FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY ON POLITICAL ADS

U.S. tech giants will have to provide more data on their targeted political ads or risk fines up to 4 per cent of their global turnover under draft EU rules seen by Reuters, part of the bloc’s crackdown on misinformation during elections. The measure is the latest EU move to rein in the power of Alphabet unit Google, Facebook and other social media giants, and force them to be more accountable and transparent. The paper defines political advertising as the publication of a message by a political actor such as an individual or a European political party or alliance to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, a legislative or regulatory process or voting behaviour. Each advertisement will have to include a statement that it is a political ad and the sponsor’s name.