The Council of Ministers has approved, in first reading, the Draft Public Sector Advertising Law, with which the Government aims to increase transparency and objectivity and avoid discrimination in the allocation of public resources to the media. One of its main measures is the establishment of a 35% limit on media income from public sector campaigns.
The text has been promoted by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service and the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, and is part of the Action Plan for Democracy that the President, Pedro Sánchez, presented in July 2024 with measures for the executive branch, the legislative branch and the media with the aim of protecting and strengthening the democratic system.
The text is aligned with the European Regulation on Freedom of the Media
The draft project involves the adaptation of Spanish legislation to the European Regulation on Freedom of the Media (EMFA), in application since August of last year, and whose mission is the protection of the freedom, independence and pluralism of the media throughout the community territory.
Consequently, the new text repeals Law 29/2005, December 29, on Advertising and Institutional Communication, and adapts to the digital reality and the current information landscape. And, among other things, it incorporates digital platforms as regulated recipients of institutional advertising, as traditional media have been until now.
As explained by Óscar López, Minister for Digital Transformation and the Public Service, the Draft Public Sector Advertising Law pursues two objectives: on the one hand, guaranteeing transparency for citizens, “so they know where their resources go, what campaigns and media their taxes go to”; and guarantee the real and economic independence of the media.
He has assured that the Spanish advertising market reaches 13,000 million euros, of which 2,700 million are public investment, figures that show the relevance and impact of the Administration’s advertising. “Public sector advertising plays an essential role in informing citizens, but it can never become a means of media buying. This is an important law for our democracy“, he commented at the press conference.
The main novelty of the rule is the establishment of a limit on income from institutional advertising through the media and digital platforms. It is set at 35% of the annual net turnover or that of the business group to which they belong and covers the sum of the investment received from the three levels of administration (state, regional and local).
However, the text establishes a clause relating to local media, which will not be under the scope of application as long as their turnover does not exceed two million euros and their audience is concentrated, at least 70%, in three neighboring Autonomous Communities. Compliance with these conditions must be certified annually by an independent external agent.
On the other hand, the text contemplates a public registry of media, in which each one, as explained by the ministry, must make public its name, the names of its direct or indirect owners who own share packages that allow them to exercise influence over its operation and the total annual amount of public funds destined for state advertising that has been assigned to them.
In addition, the regulations require the media to use audience measurement systems that comply with the European standard that requires their methodologies to be transparent; as well as transparency in relation to their rates and advertising prices.
An annual advertising report will be published detailing the destination of public funds
The draft also establishes a basic regime applicable to all public administrations, implementing cooperation between the State and the Autonomous Communities in the control of advertising spending. All of them must send information about their monitoring to the National Markets and Competition Commission.
In this sense, transparency also applies to the activity of administrations. The text proposes the creation of an annual advertising report, which will be approved by the Government and presented to the Cortes before June 30, and which will include detailed information on the final recipients of the funds.
The preliminary draft will be submitted to a public hearing, and to consultation with the different autonomous communities and local entities, and must return to the Council of Ministers to receive final approval before beginning its parliamentary processing as a bill.
