First Meta and now Google will stop showing political ads in the EU

Starting September 2025, Google will update its political content policy. From then on, the search engine mogul will no longer allow political ads on its AdSense and AdMob advertising platforms.

In the run-up to October 10, the European Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation will come into effect. The legislation imposes several restrictions on political ads.

For example, personal data for political ads can only be used if users explicitly consent to this. In addition, the use of personal data from minors to target them is strictly prohibited. Sponsors from outside the EU aren’t allowed to show political ads three months before an election.

Starting in mid-August 2025, advertisers running Shopping Ads will be required to declare whether they intend to run political ads. If this is the case, restrictions will automatically apply once the new policy launches in September, Google says in its policy update.

Messages from official sources of Member States or the EU, including announcements of candidates to promote participation in elections or referendums, will be permitted. The same goes for public communication that aims to provide official information to the public on behalf of any public authority of a Member State or the EU.

However, before Google will show political ads from these political institutions, they will have to apply for an exemption.

Google’s decision doesn’t come as a surprise. In November 2024, the tech company announced that it would stop offering political ads due to the upcoming new European legislation.

“The European Union’s upcoming Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) unfortunately introduces significant new operational challenges and legal uncertainties for political advertisers and platforms (…) As a result, Google will stop serving political advertising in the EU before the TTPA enters into force in October 2025,” Google said at the time.

Last month, Meta announced that it would no longer allow political advertising on its platforms in Europe starting in October. The tech company said that the new European rules “introduce significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties.”

“Regulations, like the TTPA, significantly undermine our ability to offer these services, not only impacting the effectiveness of advertisers’ outreach but also the ability of voters to access comprehensive information,” Meta added.