At the 9th session of the Croatian Parliament, Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan presented the Final Proposal of the Act on the Implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising
Speaking about the
acquis, Minister Habijan explained that with the entry into force of the Regulation, its provisions had direct effect and application, and it was the duty of each EU Member State, including Croatia, to create an institutional and normative framework for the implementation of the Regulation.
The scope, essence and content of the Regulation refer to all types of media, i.e. political advertising in all media formats (social media, online platforms, press, radio, etc.).
‘The aim of this Regulation and the Act is to ensure the transparency of political advertising throughout the media space and to provide all citizens with clear information on whose advertisement it is, on whose behalf it is being advertised and what its purpose is’, stressed Minister Habijan.
Political advertisements will have to be clearly accessible with a transparency label, and targeting of online political advertising will only be allowed under strict conditions, with clear and robust safeguards to protect citizens' personal data and prevent any possible misuse for the purpose of political advertising.
The Regulation is based on political advertising in the media and information space between service providers, sponsors and citizens who are the final recipients.
Pursuant to this Regulation, Croatia also has certain obligations relating primarily to the implementation part. Thus, it had to designate national authorities to be in charge of the supervision and enforcement of the Regulation, designate a national contact point to support and facilitate cooperation between national competent authorities, and designate authorised prosecutors for infringements arising from the Regulation.
Three authorities are responsible for supervision - the Agency for Electronic Media, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) and the Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP), which are also authorised prosecutors for infringements.
‘As regards the national contact point, this role will be assumed by the Agency for Electronic Media, and its purpose is to meet periodically at Union level, within the Network of national contact points, to exchange good practices’, concluded Minister Habijan.
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