The feedback is being gathered through a call for evidence.
The responses collected through the call for evidence will help shape guidelines aimed at ensuring that advertising repositories meet the needs of their users. Amongst other things, the guidelines will advise on:
- how to make advertising repositories easily searchable
- how to provide insights on how users are targeted and reached
- how to make the content of advertisements accessible
Once adopted, these guidelines will aim to ensure that the advertising repositories provided by very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) are effective and fit for purpose.
Effective advertising repositories are essential tools for enabling greater public scrutiny of online advertising. Transparency in advertising – revealing who pays and how citizens are targeted – helps to protect public health, ensure a high level of consumer protection and safeguard the integrity of elections. Advertising repositories also support effective supervision and enforcement of the DSA.
Next steps
The call for evidence will be followed by a targeted public consultation in 2027. Researchers, civil society, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs and representatives from the advertising industry will be invited to share feedback on a draft version of the guidelines. The publication of the guidelines is planned for the second quarter of 2028.
Background
Under Article 39 of the DSA, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs are required to maintain publicly accessible repositories of advertisements displayed on their services. These repositories (commonly known as ‘ad libraries’) provide information on the content of advertisements, who paid for them, the period during which they were displayed, how many users the advertisements reached, and the main criteria used to decide who saw the advertisements.
Article 39(3) of the DSA provides the possibility for the Commission to issue guidelines on the design of advertising repositories, following consultation with the European Board for Digital Services, researchers and the public. The guidelines will support the Commission’s supervision and enforcement of VLOPs and VLOSEs’ compliance with Article 39 of the DSA.