Microsoft Advertising

Report March 2026

Submitted

Executive Summary 


Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, the provider of Microsoft Advertising in the European Union (EU), submits this report outlining its implementation of the commitments under the Code of Conduct on Disinformation for the full calendar year 2025 (“reporting period”). Microsoft is committed to preventing the misuse of advertising services to disseminate or monetize disinformation and to supporting broader efforts to protect the integrity of the information ecosystem. 

Microsoft Advertising serves ads displayed on Bing Search, other Microsoft services, and third‑party properties. The platform connects advertisers, who provide advertising content, and with publishers, who display these advertisements on their services. To mitigate the risk of disinformation, Microsoft Advertising applies distinct policies and enforcement measures to advertisers and publishers, including restrictions on non‑compliant content and placements and actions against parties that fail to comply with applicable requirements.

During the reporting period, Microsoft Advertising continued to apply these policies and enforcement measures, focusing on targeted, policy‑based enforcement supported by transparency and cooperation with relevant stakeholders, consistent with the role of advertising services in the information ecosystem. Microsoft Advertising will continue to evaluate and refine its policies, enforcement processes, and reporting practices in line with the Code’s commitments and evolving risks.

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Elections 2025
[Note: Signatories are requested to provide information relevant to their particular response to the threats and challenges they observed on their service(s). They ensure that the information below provides an accurate and complete report of their relevant actions. As operational responses to crisis/election situations can vary from service to service, an absence of information should not be considered a priori a shortfall in the way a particular service has responded. Impact metrics are accurate to the best of signatories’ abilities to measure them].
Threats observed or anticipated

European National Elections (Germany, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands)


As an online advertising network, Microsoft Advertising recognises that election periods are commonly associated with heightened attempts to exploit advertising ecosystems to influence public discourse or monetise misleading narratives. In general, such risks may include attempts to place misleading or deceptive advertising content, to disguise political or issue-based messaging as commercial advertising, or to direct users to external websites that host election-related disinformation.

However, Microsoft Advertising does not support political or issue-based advertising, including election-related advertising. As a result, Microsoft Advertising does not provide a paid advertising vector through which election-specific disinformation campaigns could be promoted or amplified during the European national elections listed above.

Microsoft Advertising nonetheless anticipates that malicious actors may attempt to test or circumvent advertising restrictions during election periods, for example by masking political messaging as commercial content, using indirect or intermediary landing pages, or rapidly iterating creatives or domains to evade detection. Such attempted misuse is consistent with broader trends observed across the digital advertising ecosystem during periods of heightened public attention, including elections.

Given Microsoft Advertising’s policy posture, these risks are primarily limited to attempted or indirect misuse, rather than sustained or systemic election-related advertising activity.
Mitigations in place
Microsoft Advertising’s standing policies prohibit political and issue-based advertising globally, including advertising intended to influence electoral outcomes, voting behaviour, or public opinion on political or social issues. These prohibitions apply consistently during election periods and materially limit the risk of election-related disinformation being disseminated or monetised through Microsoft Advertising.

In addition, Microsoft Advertising applies its existing enforcement mechanisms for misleading, deceptive, or harmful advertising content, including automated and manual review processes designed to identify attempts to circumvent policy restrictions. These baseline controls are continuously applied and are considered sufficient to address attempted misuse during election periods without the need for election-specific mitigations.

No additional election-specific mitigation measures were introduced or planned for the European national elections listed above, as Microsoft Advertising’s existing policies and enforcement framework are designed to operate effectively during periods of heightened risk.
Policies and Terms and Conditions
Outline any changes to your policies
Policy - 50.1.1
Changes (such as newly introduced policies, edits, adaptation in scope or implementation) - 50.1.2
Updated to incorporate advertiser declaration requirements under EU Regulation 2024/900.
Rationale - 50.1.3
Microsoft Advertising updated its political content policy to incorporate requirements under EU Regulation 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, which entered into force in October 2025. These updates introduced a declaration requirement for advertisers targeting the EU to confirm whether campaigns or creatives are intended for political advertising.

The change was procedural in nature and did not alter Microsoft Advertising’s longstanding prohibition on political or issue-based advertising. Accordingly, the update was not related to European national elections or election-specific advertising activity.