Reglamento (UE) 2024/900 sobre transparencia y segmentación de la publicidad política

Political microtargeting faces a new regulatory landscape following the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPA). This article examines whether political microtargeting can operate within the boundaries established by this regulation. It offers four specific contributions to the literature. First, it establishes an analytical methodology based on the decomposition of microtargeting into two stages —message creation and message dissemination— which allows for the assessment of regulatory impact. Second, it identifies a «waterfall effect» as the explanatory mechanism through which restrictions on data collection amplify across subsequent stages, which may lead to less homogeneous subgroups, less specific messages, and a heightened risk of mistargeting. Third, it argues that while the TTPA does not prohibit microtargeting explicitly, it may discourage the practice and, instead, incentivize segmentation methods based on a single criterion —such as geographic targeting— which do not constitute microtargeting in the strict sense. Fourth, it concludes that political microtargeting formally survives the TTPA by satisfying the four criteria that define it. The third criterion —the formation of homogeneous subgroups— may be strained by the regulation’s requirements.