Petition is addressed to: Komisja Europejska

European Union institutions are in the process of finalizing a regulation restricting the free exchange of opinions online. In practice, online platforms will be officially required to impose a "shadow ban," i.e. significant restrictions on their reach, on all political content. Not only those published by politicians, but also those by all of us who claim our rights - civil society institutions, online authors and ordinary internet users. We call for the regulation of transparency and targeting of political advertising in its current form to be abandoned and brought in line with its original goals.
Citizen-to-citizen discussion and citizen-to-power discussion are the cornerstones of a democratic system. Everyone should have the right to express his or her opinion on political issues and to convince fellow citizens of what he or she believes is right. No one should restrict this right or create a situation in which it becomes just an empty cliché when the citizen's voice cannot be heard.
As a result, plans by the European Parliament and the European Council to introduce a regulation "on transparency and targeting of political advertising"[1] must be of concern. In its current form, it could stifle political discourse online. It is in the final stage of the EU's decision-making process and could come into force as soon as in 2023. This is therefore the last moment to protest and to sign on to this appeal.
 In our view, the planned regulation of political advertising is as dangerous to online freedom as the famous ACTA agreement, which triggered mass protests in 2012.
 This regulation is an excellent example of the validity of the saying that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." The initiators of the regulation, recognizing that the internet is being used to unfairly manipulate voters' opinions, concluded that the possibility of paid political advertising campaigns using sophisticated microtargeting techniques on the web should be significantly restricted. In accordance with the original idea, a web user could only be subject to such targeting if he or she explicitly and consciously agrees to it.
Such a regulatory proposal quickly slipped through the cracks, with its original meaning receding into the background, and as a result of a series of "improvements," we are presented with a document that will hit any online content that can be considered political in some way, and regardless of whether it is paid for or not, and regardless of who publishes it. Blurred definitions and vague terms used in the current version of the regulation mean that not only politicians, but also NGOs and individuals will be subject to it. In practice, the regulation will impose a "shadow ban" on people and institutions displaying political content, i.e. a significant restriction on their reach from which there will be no appeal. Our appeal, therefore, is not to regulate political advertising per se, but to attempt to regulate restrictions - disguised as concern for the quality of discourse and the integrity of elections, the space for civic freedom of expression online.
In particular, the definition of "public advertising activities," which according to Article 2, point 2b of the regulation, raises concerns: 
political advertising’ means the preparation, placement, promotion, publication or dissemination, by any means, of a message:
a) by, for or on behalf of a political actor, unless it is of a purely private or a purely commercial nature; or
b) which is liable to influence the outcome of an election or referendum, a legislative or regulatory process or voting behaviour. 
The outcome of an election or referendum can be influenced by virtually any content related to broader social life. The regulation thus strikes equally at all ideological sides of the public debate.
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0731