Recent elections have seen clicks, swipes, and taps become fundamental means of political agency for an ever-growing number of voters across the world. As political discussions have mostly migrated into online spaces, political parties and their candidates have likewise embraced social media advertising as a tool of persuasion. New Liberties research investigates this trend in the 2024 European Parliament elections, examining whether existing regulations are being respected and asking how the digital age has moulded modern campaigns.
Assessing Compliance: EU Regulations on Political Ads
The EU has introduced several pieces of legislation in the last few years to shore up election integrity. These most notably include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Digital Services Act (DSA), and Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA). Our research analysed online political campaigns in six countries (Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Spain) to gauge whether these EU protections were followed or disregarded.
The Hidden Issues in Political Ad Targeting and Transparency
In our 2024 EP election research, we considered key findings which paint a complex, and at times ominous picture of online targeting practices, transparency issues, and regulatory gaps.
On social media, the targeting of users based on custom lists and lookalike audiences was highly prevalent for political advertisers. There was a lack of transparency in how these lists were made and whether lookalike audiences were created through illegal data processing. Notably, ad delivery algorithms were found to potentially contribute to the fragmentation of public discourse, leading to highly individualised content exposure.
Beyond questionable targeting techniques, transparency issues were rampant in recent elections. Both Google and Meta (Facebook) provided insufficient information in their ad repositories. Google even failed to provide keyword search and platform-specific breakdowns in their reporting sites. These omissions create challenges for researchers, authorities responsible for enforcement, legislators, and members of the public who want to understand the opaque advertising landscape, disincentivizing further analysis.
Offering Solutions for the EU’s Digital Dilemma
While we identified problematic corporate practices around political advertising online, we also formulated solutions to address some of these issues.
On the EU-level, we argued that the enforcement capacities for the existing aforementioned regulations should be strengthened to oversee the practices of platforms effectively. Guidelines for platforms and political actors would help with compliance. We also argued that transparency requirements for targeting practices and ad delivery algorithms should be expanded, allowing researchers and the public alike to understand the mechanics behind their online experiences.
On the national level, we emphasised the necessity of spending caps and well-formulated third-party regulations for political campaigns across the EU to ensure truly fair political competition.
Political campaigns on social media are in no way separate from the institutional, traditional practices of politics. As European politics continue to expand into the digital world, regulations must be enforced to uphold the fairness of elections,thereby ensuring a genuinely democratic rule.
Resources
Download the full report here (in PDF)
Who tries to influence your vote on Facebook?
Poland: Polish Elections and the Rising Tide of Social Media
Spain: Who Owns Your News? Exploring Shifts in Spanish News and Elections
France: French Regulations Restrict Political Ads, Yet the Far-Right Surge
Bulgaria: Bulgaria’s 2024 EP Elections: From Problematic Targeting Techniques to Regulatory Gaps
Hungary: How Hungary’s Media Landscape Reinforces State Power
