Some parties and media channels are considering whether to allow political ads on their platforms at all under these conditions.

At the same time, there is still no clear understanding in Estonia of what exactly constitutes political advertising, in the understanding of the EU regulations.

Isamaa Secretary General Andres Metsoja said: "I recoiled at the fact that we have been producing a large amount of Isamaa 'soil,' 'peat' as fertilizer, and have been successfully distributing it at fairs, but we didn't label that as political advertising. If we don't get to disseminate it all now, then next year we probably can't distribute it in that packaging anymore — we'll have to make new plastic packs, and I don't know where the environmental consciousness or common sense lies in that."

To clarify things, the issue was also discussed by the Riigikogu's special anti-corruption committee, but according to some politicians, that only served to muddy the waters. For example, it is unclear whether one politician can congratulate another on any successes via social media, or whether a 20-second radio spot must be followed by a two-minute information text pointing out that what preceded had been a political ad.

Committee chair Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (Center) said: "Today, we may find ourselves in a situation in which, just before the elections, all the political advertising disappears. The reason being that no one knows how to interpret this. Essentially, anything can be labeled as political advertising. For example, political debates could be considered political 'ads.' It could also mean that announcements from polling stations constitute political ads."

The original concept behind the regulation had been to increase transparency, but even Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) has stated that the plan was drafted naively. Estonia voted against the regulation at EU level back in 2021, together with Austria and Hungary, but that wasn't enough to sway the remaining member states.

The result may mean Estonia running the regulation's processing through a common sense "mill."

Pakosta said: "Maximum fines in Europe are high, yet in Estonia we clearly intend to implement this with common sense. We have no intention of hurrying to fine anyone. Instead, from the outset, the role of the state and the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority will clearly be an advisory and supportive one."

An additional workload and bureaucracy will fall on advertisers, content creators, and media houses, who could face high fines if they made errors. As a result, daily Postimees for example is considering whether to allow political advertising in its pages at all, ahead of the next elections in October.

Väino Koorberg, CEO of the Estonian Media Association, said the regulation: "Involves about 30 to 50 pieces of information which must be transmitted, mediated, rendered transparent, and uploaded to the EU's central information repository. I would certainly like to hope that the European Commission will also apply some common sense in enforcing these requirements, because most likely, when this regulation was first adopted, in a hurry, the aim was to achieve maximal transparency, a maximal outcome, without considering whether such maximising is even feasible or necessary in real life."

The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) will oversee political advertising, just as it already does in what currently constitutes such advertising.

The new EU regulation will require extensive transparency in political advertising, and will take effect on October 10 — just nine days before the elections to Estonia's 79 municipalities. The regulation mandates that all political ads be clearly labeled as such, include a link or QR code to detail who commissioned the ad, who funded it, how much was paid, plus the ad's duration.

Estonia abstained from voting on the regulation and criticized it as burdensome, but in any case must now comply, as the rules are directly applicable.

While the regulation is part of a broader European Commission initiative to protect democracy, only the transparency aspects have been finalized so far. Estonia has had minimal regulation of political ads in the past, so concerns are growing that the new rules could disproportionately impact smaller campaigns and media outlets.

The TTJA says it also lacks sufficient resources to fully monitor compliance with the regulation. Media outlets are concerned that the rapid implementation of these new rules could stifle political debate, pushing campaigns to major social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta instead.

The European Commission is expected to provide more guidelines by July.

Estonia had until a few years ago barred all outdoor political advertising several weeks before an election, but this requirement was dropped amid much opposition from all sides. It effectively meant a surge in outdoor ads a few weeks before an election, only for them to disappear nearer polling day. Workarounds such as leaving a trailer with a political ad in a parking lot, or displaying ads indoors at party headquarters in a way that they were clearly visible at street level, were common.

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