The second online meeting was held within the session “Rules for the dissemination of audiovisual content in the digital environment” of the third component of the Twinning project. During the meeting, experts of the National Council became acquainted with the main provisions of the Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA). The document introduces unified requirements for political advertising in audiovisual media and online, obliges clear labeling of such materials, and requires disclosure of information about the sponsor, budget, and targeting methods.
The Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) sets new rules of the game for political advertising in the EU – from traditional TV commercials to targeted ads on social media. These rules are designed to ensure full transparency of such messages and provide additional protection against manipulation and foreign interference, which is particularly relevant for Ukraine. Starting from October 2025, all political advertisements in the EU must be clearly labeled and accompanied by transparent information about the sponsor and the key parameters of the campaign.
Representatives of Italy’s AGCOM and Greece’s NCRTV explained that the Regulation places special emphasis on so‑called “issue‑based” advertising – paid messages on socially significant topics that can influence voters and the course of political processes, even without directly mentioning parties or candidates. Experts noted that such tools are increasingly becoming channels of manipulation and external interference in democratic procedures. Advertising built around socially significant issues (issue‑based ads) with hidden political undertones has proven to be the most serious challenge for European regulators.
Participants of the meeting illustrated this with concrete examples – from anti‑vaccination campaigns during the pandemic to cases in Romania where bloggers were used to promote pro‑Russian narratives – showing how such ads can subtly shift public opinion and affect voting outcomes.
The discussion focused on how the approaches of the TTPA could be taken into account in Ukrainian legislation. This involves broadening the understanding of political advertising, covering online platforms and influencers, as well as introducing effective mechanisms of transparency and monitoring.
For the National Council, this will mean strengthening its role in overseeing political advertising in the digital environment. It will be necessary to develop procedures for interaction with platforms and to adapt European practices, in particular maintaining repositories (storage or servers) of political advertisements and applying transparency standards that are already in place in EU member states.
The implementation of the TTPA approaches for the media regulator is an opportunity to combine European transparency standards with the already established practice of countering disinformation, particularly in the online environment.
During the next meeting, participants of the Twinning project will discuss the Digital Services Act (DSA) and its interaction with the European Media Freedom Act and the Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising. European colleagues will explain how the DSA’s requirements for large platforms can strengthen protection against opaque political advertising and information manipulation.
