Google sent out an email and posted an update that it will update the Political content policy for Google Ads to include the following regional restriction for the European Union (EU). This goes into effect in September 2025.
Here is the full list:
The following will be restricted on Google platforms:
Not allowed Political advertising as defined under EU Regulation 2024/900:
- Ads by, for or on behalf of a political actor (defined below), unless the ad is of a purely private or a purely commercial nature; or
- Ads which are liable and designed to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, voting behaviour or a legislative or regulatory process, at EU, national, regional or local level.
Under EU Regulation 2024/900, a political actor means any of the following in the EU:
- A political party or an entity related directly or indirectly to the sphere of activity of such a political party;
- A political alliance;
- A European political party;
- A candidate for or holder of any elected office at EU, national, regional and local level, or for any leadership position within a political party;
- A member of EU institutions, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and Court of Auditors, or of a government of a Member State at national, regional or local level;
- A political campaign organization with or without legal personality, established solely for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election or referendum;
- Any natural or legal person representing or acting on behalf of any of the persons or organizations referred to in the points above, and promoting the political objectives of any of those persons or organizations.
Not allowed Ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, coalition, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the EU Parliament or an elected national office within an EU member state; or
- A referendum question up for vote, a referendum campaign group, or a call to vote related to a national referendum or a state or provincial referendum on sovereignty.
The following ads will be permitted to run upon successful completion of the application process below:
- Messages from official sources of Member States or the EU that are strictly limited to the organization and modalities for participating in elections or referendums, including the announcement of candidacies or the question put to the referendum, or for promoting participation in elections or referendums; and
- Public communication that aims to provide official information to the public by, for or on behalf of any public authority of a Member State or by, for or on behalf of the EU, including by, for or on behalf of members of the government of a Member State, provided that they are not liable and designed to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, voting behavior or a legislative or regulatory process.
Self-Declaration requirement:
Beginning from mid-August 2025, you will be asked to declare if you intend to run political advertising as set out above. If you declare “Yes”, restrictions will automatically apply once the new policy launches in September.
Changes to EU Political Ads Transparency Report and EU Election Ads Verification:
As of September 2025, the EU Political Ads Transparency report will be no longer available. However, EU Election Ads previously shown in the Political Ads Transparency Report will remain publicly accessible in the Ads Transparency Center, subject to retention policies. Advertisers’ accounts that have already completed verification to run EU Election Ads will be converted to be part of the Google Advertiser verification program.
Violations of Google’s Political Content policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension of your account.
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
