Seven-year retention period

The seven-year retention period is the minimum time frame that publishers and providers of political advertising services must keep records related to political advertisements. This obligation ensures that transparency information remains available for supervisory authorities to verify compliance with the political advertising regulation even after a campaign or election has concluded.

Legal Basis

"Publishers and providers of political advertising services shall retain the transparency information referred to in paragraph 1 for a period of seven years from the date of publication of the political advertisement."

— Article 10(3), Regulation 2024/900

The regulation also states that this retention period is "without prejudice to stricter requirements for the retention of data laid down in other Union or national law."

Why It Matters

The seven-year retention requirement affects all publishers and providers of political advertising services operating in the EU. This includes online platforms, newspapers, broadcasters, advertising agencies, influencers, and any other entity paid to place, publish, or disseminate political advertisements.

This extended retention period ensures accountability long after electoral campaigns end. National authorities responsible for supervising political advertising must be able to investigate complaints, verify compliance, and enforce the regulation years after an advertisement was published. Without this requirement, evidence of potential violations could disappear, making enforcement impossible.

The seven-year period aligns with broader EU transparency and accountability standards, particularly for political and financial activities. It recognizes that investigations into electoral interference, illegal funding, or regulatory violations may not begin immediately after an election, especially when foreign interference or complex cross-border campaigns are involved.

Key Points

Minimum requirement: Seven years is the minimum; Member States or other EU laws may require longer retention periods
Scope: Covers all transparency information from Article 10(1), including sponsor identity, amounts paid, publication period, and targeting criteria
All media: Applies equally to online and offline political advertising (social media posts, newspaper ads, radio spots, etc.)
Supervisory access: Records must remain accessible to competent national authorities throughout the entire period
GDPR interaction: Must be balanced with data protection principles, particularly purpose limitation and storage limitation under GDPR
No automatic deletion: Publishers cannot automatically delete political advertising records after shorter periods (e.g., one or two years) used for other types of content

Seven-year retention period vs. GDPR storage limitation

The seven-year retention requirement appears to conflict with the GDPR principle of storage limitation, which requires personal data to be kept only as long as necessary for the specified purposes. However, both obligations can coexist.

The retention period under Regulation 2024/900 serves the specific legal purpose of ensuring transparency and accountability in political advertising. This constitutes a legitimate legal basis under GDPR Article 6(1)(c) (legal obligation) for retaining the data. Publishers and providers must still implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the stored data and should only retain what is strictly necessary for compliance.

Personal data that is not required for the transparency obligations (such as detailed user interaction logs beyond what is needed for reach reporting) should still be deleted in accordance with GDPR principles. The seven-year period applies specifically to the transparency information mandated by Article 10 of Regulation 2024/900.

Related Terms

Publisher
Provider of political advertising services
Transparency notice
Political advertisement
Sponsor
Competent authority
GDPR compliance
Political actor
Targeting techniques
Record-keeping obligations

Very transparent. Every political ad will be labelled, linked to a transparency notice with detailed information, and online ads will be searchable in a central European repository.

The Network coordinates election-related cooperation between member states. National contact points for TTPA enforcement should be members of this network where possible.

Election campaigns will need to ensure all paid advertising includes proper labels and transparency notices. Sponsors must be prepared to provide required information to all service providers.

Several major platforms currently do not allow paid political advertising, including some large social networks. This limits where political actors can place paid online advertisements.

The TTPA applies from 10 October 2025. Member States had until 10 April 2025 to designate competent authorities, and the Commission must provide label templates by 10 July 2025.

Publishers must ensure completeness and accuracy of certain information but are not required to verify all sponsor claims. They must correct manifestly erroneous information when they become aware of it.

Yes. When a hosting provider and a website both display an ad, both are considered publishers with responsibility for their specific services. Contracts should clarify how they share compliance duties.

If a publisher removes or disables access to a political ad due to illegality or terms violations, they must still provide access to the transparency information for the full seven-year retention period.