EU requires information on payers in advertising

The European Union has adopted new rules, which oblige advertisers to from June 10, 2023 specify a beneficiary and a payer in their Facebook and Instagram ads for the EU or its associated territories. This regulation also applies to advertising aimed worldwide and is mandatory in all new, duplicated or edited advertisements.

Advertisers who deny this information are prevented from posting their ads. The details must be provided when the ads are created, and they are stored in the meta advertising library, but are not visible in the ads themselves or in the feed. The information is kept in the advertising library for up to one year after the ads have received their last impression.

It's important to note that providing beneficiaries and payers has no effect on ad delivery, costs, bids, features, or ad reviews.

Who must be identified as beneficiary and payer?

It is the responsibility of advertisers to comply with the applicable laws and regulations of the country in which they want to place their ads.

According to the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), advertisers must provide information about the natural or legal person on whose behalf the ad is being placed (beneficiary) and the person or organization who pays for the advertising (payer). This can result in various scenarios:

• A small business can be identified as both a beneficiary and as a payer.
• In the case of a subsidiary of a parent company, the subsidiary may be named as the beneficiary and the parent company as the payer.
• When an individual promotes a product, service, or candidacy, the name of the advertised product, service, or candidate must be provided as the beneficiary. In this case, the individual acts as the payer.

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Information on beneficiaries and payers is required when advertising is targeted either globally or at the following EU countries and territories:

• Åland Islands
• austria
• azores
• belgium
• bulgaria
• Büsingen am Hochrhein
• Campione d'Italia and Italian areas of Lake Lugano
• Canary islands
• croatia
• cyprus
• Czech Republic
• denmark
• estonia
• finland
• france
• French Guiana
• germany
• greece
• guadeloupe
• Heligoland
• hungary
• ireland
• italy
• latvia
• lithuania
• Livigno
• luxemburg
• madeira
• malta
• martinique
• mayotte
• Melilla and Ceuta
• Mount Athos
• netherlands
• poland
• pt
• Reunion
• romania
• St. Martin (France)
• slovakia
• slovenia
• spain
• swedes

These new requirements ensure transparency and accountability in advertising and serve to protect consumers within the EU.

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