Policy Background Digital Imprints
Under existing electoral law, campaigners are required to use an imprint to identify who they are and on behalf of whom they promote non-digital (i.e., printed) campaign material, such as leaflets and posters. Currently, imprints are required on printed election, referendum and recall petition material and serve to promote transparency about who is campaigning. Requiring an imprint ensures accountability in relation to these materials by making campaigners responsible for their communications and improves voter confidence. The imprint regime also assists the Electoral Commission and the police to enforce spending rules.
	The rise of digital campaigning has resulted in traditional printed leaflets no longer being the dominant form of political communication. Despite the growth in digital political campaigning, imprint requirements have not been extended to digital campaign material. This represents a gap in the law that the Government is addressing through the introduction of a digital imprints regime.
	In 2017, the Committee on Standards in Public Life published a report which recommended electoral law be updated to require an imprint to be included on online campaign material. Following this, the Cabinet Office launched the consultation Protecting the Debate: Intimidation, Influence and Information in July 2018 which included a proposal to extend the requirement for an imprint to digital material. The feedback to this consultation, published in the Government response, indicated broad support for this proposal and in May 2019 the Government committed to introducing a digital imprints regime. To support the delivery of this commitment, in August 2020, the Government then launched the technical consultation Transparency in digital campaigning: technical consultation on digital imprints , outlining the technical proposals for the regime. The consultation closed in November 2020 and the Government’s response was published on 15 June 2021.
	The Act introduces a new digital imprints regime requiring anyone paying for digital political material to be advertised to explicitly show who they are, and on whose behalf they are promoting the material. Paid-for material is where a payment is made for the material to be published as an advertisement and the content also meets the purpose condition. Certain campaigners (registered political parties, candidates, future candidates, recognised third-party campaigners, referendum campaigners, holders of elected office and recall petition campaigners) are also required to include an imprint on their other electronic material if it constitutes digital election, referendum or recall petition material. Other electronic material is material which meets the purpose and promoter (or the person on behalf of whom) conditions and where no payment is made for the material to be published as an advertisement.