MEPs debate and vote on their negotiating position for talks on new political advertising rules to make EU elections more transparent and resistant to interference. The draft text demands that more information be made available to citizens, authorities and journalists, banning online advert providers from carrying out micro-targeting, and introducing additional sanctions for breaches.

Brussels

debate

plenary session

vote

funding of European political parties (T)

GOZI, Sandro (Renew, FR)

ARIAS ECHEVERRÍA, Pablo (EPP, ES)

URPILAINEN, Jutta (FI, EC)

CSEH, Katalin (Renew, HU)

LEITÃO-MARQUES, Maria-Manuel (S&D, PT)

GEESE, Alexandra (Greens/EFA, DE)

Transparency and targeting of political advertising: extracts from the debate (01/02) and the votes

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/68426737/1675334653621_I236461Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

Title: Transparency and targeting of political advertising: extracts from the debate (01/02) and the votes

SOUNDBITE (French), Sandro GOZI (Renew, IT), Rapporteur, It is very clear there is too much manipulation and abuse in our elections and democracy. Foreign interference has become a real scourge. Cambridge Analytica, Qatar Gate. I could go on and on. The current backdrop speaks volumes, and as political decision makers, we have to assume responsibility and take the necessary decisions in order to effectively fight against all forms of interference and disinformation in our democracies. But at the same time, we have to make sure that public debate in Europe remains open.

SOUNDBITE (French), Sandro GOZI (Renew, IT), Rapporteur, We want a true, genuine single market of political advertising and services, especially for European SMEs. We want more legal certainty and we want less barriers and obstacles and red tape for those who provide political advertising services. European political parties won't be stymied by 27 different legal frameworks, and it will be easy for them to have a true European campaign. So we're going to liberalise the single market and but also provide more protection of our fundamental freedoms.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jutta URPILAINEN, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, We appreciate that the European Parliament and the Council share the main objectives of our proposal to create high standard of transparency of political advertising and to limit the use of potential opaque and data hungry targeting techniques. We need these rules in place ahead of the 2024 Parliament elections, preserving the articulation between the internal market and data protection - a key established in the Commission's proposal - is essential to guarantee legal certainty and effective protection of individual rights.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jutta URPILAINEN, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, We also should pay attention to expression of political debate and ensure individual right to receive information about politics. We are all convinced that union level measures are needed to address the challenges associated with a rapidly evolving, diverse digital and multimedia landscape. New technologies. They offer many benefits to enhance the democratic debate, but can be misused also for foreign interference and disinformation.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Pablo ARIAS ECHEVERRIA (EPP, ES), We are adopting a tool on the basis of the Digital Services Act, which imposes transparency obligations, but also trying to curtail foreign interference that we've already seen a part of some countries such as Russia. Instead of bans, we want to strengthen transparency obligations, and these obligations have to be matched by anyone who wants to publish political advertising. We want to know who's behind this and what techniques and technology has been used. And by doing this, we can avoid other scandals such as Cambridge Analytica.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria-Manuel LEITAO-MARQUES (S&D, PT), To prevent our elections being manipulated by actors outside the union. We have put in place a ban on sponsorship of political campaigns to anyone who's not an EU citizen or resident. And neither do we want this regulation to adversely impact on all fundamental rights, especially on freedom of expression and freedom in political terms. Therefore, our group demanded that the rules should apply only to the advertising provided to the service rather than normal communications by any citizens.

SOUNDBITE (English), Katalin CSEH (Renew, HU), Social media platforms can give malign actors a powerful tool to undermine our democracy. They can open the door to foreign interference, they can amplify misinformation and propaganda, and they can use to stoke up hatred and divide our societies. And then build up these cases, the practice, called micro-targeting, was a very big part of the problem. Tailoring messages to audiences, of course, can be legitimate, but gathering sensitive data without voters consent and then exploiting this to manipulate them is certainly not.

SOUNDBITE (German), Alexandra GEESE (Greens/EFA, DE), Using such a data profile, a party can reach out to quite different voter groups with quite different messages, such as saying, Drive what you like or no new laws to the older people and protect the climate first and foremost to younger people. And that's got nothing to do with our democracy. As a party, you have to stand up for what you believe in. It's our responsibility to clearly message on that. Democracy requires a common demos, and that's what this law promotes.

Final vote on Commission proposal - report Gozi A9-0009/2023 (3 shots)

Transparency and targeting of political advertising: extracts from the debate (01/02) and the votes

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