Recommendation 23

HM Government Accepted

Once implemented, the digital imprint regime, introduced in the Elections Act 2022, will be one of the most ambitious ones in the world, providing voters with much needed transparency about who is seeking to influence their views online. The regime’s existing scope delivers the Government’s objective of increasing transparency whilst ensuring the rules are proportionate and enforceable. The regime as set out in the Act will already go much further than the print imprint rules by capturing any organisation or individual (including unregistered campaigners) paying to advertise relevant digital political material. The rules for paid-for material will not be limited to specific elections, referendums or periods of time and will apply to a broad range of digital material of a political nature. The regime will ensure that the imprint explicitly states who is the promoter (and any person on behalf of whom material is being published, if different from the promoter) of the content. Members of the public expressing their political views online, unless they pay to advertise material within the scope of the regime, will not require an imprint under our regime. In terms of evaluation, this is a new regime, and as with any primary legislation initiated by the Government, we are committed to monitoring the implementation of the digital imprint regime to measure the extent to which it delivers our policy objectives. As explained in the Government’s response to the Committee’s Fifth Report of Session 2021–22 on ‘The Elections Bill’, as part of this monitoring we may for instance seek to measure levels of compliance with the digital imprint rules, increased levels of transparency for voters regarding digital campaigning material in scope of the regime and improved enforcement of spending rules by the authorities. Further, as part of its reporting requirements (in clause 55 of the Elections Act), the Electoral Commission will monitor the enforcement of digital imprints, including reporting on convictions for digital imprints offences, orders to take down electronic material, and the Electoral Commission’s use of its power to request information.8 evaluation evidence to ensure the rules remained proportionate. Finally, in order to ensure that the regime operates as intended, as well as accommodate technological changes, the digital imprint regime includes regulation-making powers for the Secretary of State to, if needed, modify key definitions; add, modify or remove the details to be included in the imprint; as well as amend the exceptions to the imprint requirements. Moreover, the statutory guidance, which will provide campaigners with practical direction on how to follow the regime, can be updated or amended by the Electoral Commission or when directed by the Secretary of State.