This report presents the results of a comparative study on political advertising during the 2024 EU elections. On the one hand, it analyses compliance and transparency of two Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines (VLOPSEs) – Meta and Google – on commitments made on political advertising in the context of the Code of Practice (as of July 2025, Code of Conduct) on Disinformation. On the other hand, it assesses use, spending and targeting by political parties during the run up to the European Parliament elections in June 2024.

The study is a collaborative effort of ten EDMO hubs, covering electoral advertising in fifteen EU countries. EDMOeu offered support on brainstorming and methodology as well as in initial coordination between the hubs. While EDMO BELUX wrote up the findings, local data analysis was provided for crucial steps of the analysis (2- 4 as described in the evaluation framework). We are grateful for the contributions of ADMO, BROD, CEDMO, EDMO Ireland, HDMO, GADMO, IBERIFIER, IDMO, MEDDMO, and VUB intern Manon Sebah.

Author: Trisha Meyer

Contributors: Madalina Botan, Mato Brautović, Domenico Cangemi, Evangelia Kartsounidou, Vojtěch Kupka, Irene Larraz, Pantelitsa Leonidou, Megan Mallia, Csaba Molnár, Shane Murphy, Aurken Sierra, Andrea Stancea, Karina Stasiuk-Krajewska, Susanne Wegner, Tom Willaert