Getting Ready for the TTPA
From 2026, EU policy comms teams must get comfortable with a new reality for political advertising.
Gökşen Çalışkan is a Senior Advisor at the Euractiv Advocacy Lab.
Disclosure
Gökşen Çalışkan is Senior Advisor at Euractiv Advocacy Lab. The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
What it covers
What the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation (TTPA) changes, and how teams should prepare.
Who it is for
Policy comms teams, NGOs, agencies, and publishers running political or issue-based advertising in the EU.
When to use it
When planning, executing, or measuring political and issue-based advertising under the TTPA.
Key takeaway
The recommendation isn’t panic, but preparation — teams that adapt early enter 2026 with tested processes rather than last-minute improvisation.
In brief
- The TTPA, in force since 10 October 2025, introduces wide-ranging disclosure obligations across online, TV, print, and social channels.
- Major platforms have suspended political ads in the EU, leaving fewer tools and more guesswork, with smaller NGOs feeling the squeeze most.
- Prepare rather than panic: build legal understanding, plan for enforcement scenarios, diversify channels, lean into storytelling, and protect budgets.
Getting Ready for the TTPA
Starting in 2026, policy comms teams in the EU will need to get comfortable with a whole new reality for political advertising: the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation (TTPA), in force since 10 October 2025. Designed to bring consistency and transparency to political and issue-based advertising across the union, it introduces wide-ranging disclosure obligations across channels (online, TV, print, social), requiring ads to clearly show who sponsored and funded them, how much was spent, the purpose, targeting criteria, and other accountability details, with tougher requirements also falling on agencies and publishers.
In practice, this reshapes how campaigns are planned, executed, and measured, especially as major platforms (including Meta, Google, Tiktok and Snapchat) have announced suspensions of political ads in the EU due to uncertainty, leaving fewer tools and more guesswork. Smaller organisations, particularly NGOs, may feel the squeeze most through added admin burden, uneven enforcement, and reduced targeting options. The recommendation isn’t panic, but preparation: build internal understanding with legal teams, plan for multiple enforcement scenarios, diversify channels beyond paid social, lean into creativity and stronger storytelling as targeting shrinks, and protect budgets by reallocating spend toward trusted publishers or compliant alternatives.
The bottom line is that TTPA is already changing the environment, and the teams that adapt early will enter 2026 with tested processes rather than last-minute improvisation.