Google said on Thursday that it is expanding stricter political advertising requirements to the European Union as part of efforts to curb misinformation and increase transparency ahead of the bloc’s elections next year.
As the EU prepares for the vote, U.S. tech companies are facing pressure to do more to counter foreign influence campaigns following allegations that online platforms were used to meddle in elections in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Google will require every political advertisement to disclose who is paying for it while also tightening its identity verification process for ad buyers.
It will also publish a report on the transparency of EU election ads and a library of political ads that anyone can search for more information on buyers, their target audience, and how the money is spent.
“Like others, we’re thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes around the world, including by bringing more transparency to political advertising online,” the company’s director of EU public policy and government relations, Lie Junius, said.
