September update to the platforms program policies for European Union (EU) political ads 

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In September 2025, Google will update the Platforms Program policies to include the following regional restriction for the European Union (EU).

Google's platform products must not be used in connection with the advertising of European Union (EU) political ads.

The following will be restricted on Google platforms:

Political advertising as defined under EU Regulation 2024/900:

• Ads by, for or on behalf of a political actor (defined below), unless it 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 behavior 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.

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.

If you believe you satisfy these requirements, you can apply for an exemption, or you can appeal the policy decision. The application will be available through the policy help center.

Self-Declaration Requirement

Beginning in September 2025, advertisers using Display & Video 360 will be asked to declare if line items contain political advertising as set out above. All line items created after September 8th will include options for EU political ads, with mandatory declarations using "Yes” and “No" buttons. If you declare “Yes”, restrictions will automatically apply after the new policy launches on September 22, 2025, and the line items won’t serve in the EU. Google Ads, Google Ad Manager, Google Ad Manager 360, Campaign Manager 360, and Search Ads 360 will be applying similar restrictions. Check with those products' help centers for more details.

 

(Posted on 5 August 2025; Updated 3 September 2025)