Administrative fines
Administrative fines are financial penalties that national authorities can impose on sponsors, providers of political advertising services, or publishers who fail to comply with the transparency and targeting rules set out in the EU Regulation on political advertising. These fines are meant to ensure compliance and deter violations of the regulation's requirements for labeling, transparency notices, and restrictions on targeting techniques.
Legal Basis
"Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive."
— Article 20(1), Regulation (EU) 2024/900
"The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 shall include administrative fines. Member States shall ensure that the maximum amount of administrative fines that may be imposed is not less than 1 % of the total turnover of the legal person in the preceding business year, or EUR 25 000, whichever is higher."
— Article 20(2), Regulation (EU) 2024/900
Why It Matters
Administrative fines under the political advertising regulation ensure that all actors in the political advertising ecosystem take their obligations seriously. Sponsors, providers of political advertising services, and publishers must comply with transparency requirements—including proper labeling of political ads, providing transparency notices, and maintaining records. Fines provide a strong incentive to meet these standards.
The regulation requires each Member State to set up an enforcement framework with penalties that are effective, proportionate, and dissuasive. This means fines must be significant enough to deter violations but also fair and proportional to the severity of the breach. National authorities responsible for supervision—typically media regulators or data protection authorities depending on the nature of the infringement—have the power to investigate and impose these fines.
For businesses, understanding the fine structure is essential for risk management and compliance planning. The potential financial exposure can be substantial, particularly for larger organizations, making it critical to implement robust compliance processes, staff training, and regular audits of political advertising activities.
Key Points
- Minimum thresholds: Member States must set maximum fines of at least 1% of annual turnover or EUR 25,000, whichever is higher
- National competence: Each Member State designates the authorities responsible for imposing fines and determines the specific penalty framework
- Proportionality required: Fines must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive based on the nature and severity of the infringement
- Multiple actors liable: Fines can be imposed on sponsors, providers of political advertising services, or publishers depending on who violated the regulation
- Transparency violations: Common grounds for fines include missing labels, incomplete transparency notices, or failure to provide reporting channels
- Targeting violations: Using prohibited personal data for targeting or failing to obtain proper consent can also trigger fines
Administrative fines vs. Data protection fines
While both types of fines can apply in the context of political advertising, they serve different purposes and are imposed by different authorities. Administrative fines under Regulation 2024/900 are imposed by media regulators or designated national authorities for violations of transparency and due diligence obligations specific to political advertising—such as failing to label an ad as political or not providing required transparency information.
Data protection fines under the GDPR are imposed by data protection authorities for violations of personal data processing rules—such as using special category data for targeting without proper legal basis, or failing to obtain valid consent. When political advertising involves the processing of personal data for targeting or ad placement, both regulatory frameworks can apply simultaneously.
In practice, if an online platform targets political ads using personal data without consent, it may face both an administrative fine for violating the political advertising regulation's targeting rules and a GDPR fine for unlawful data processing. The authorities coordinate to avoid double penalties for the same conduct.