On November 4, 2026, the European Commission published a call for evidence on technical guidelines concerning advertising repositories under the Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, in the European Union. EU-designated very large online platform providers, EU-designated very large online search engine providers, and advertising industry representatives must submit evidence to the Commission's call for evidence on DSA advertising-repository guidelines by December 2, 2026, or the guidelines will be shaped without their input.
The Commission notice of November 4, 2026 says the guidelines, once adopted, will aim to ensure that the advertising repositories provided by very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) are effective. The call for evidence is the channel for that input. It does not itself adopt the guidelines.
What is the Commission asking respondents to shape?
An advertising repository is a repository that makes information about ads available to the public and easy to access, kept by very large online platforms and very large online search engines, which the guidelines are meant to make effective once adopted. The notice of November 4, 2026 states that these repositories enable information about ads to be available to the public and easy to access, and that the guidelines, once adopted, will aim to ensure the repositories of VLOPs and VLOSEs are effective.
The same notice says advertising repositories enable researchers, civil society, journalists and national authorities to detect risks related to online advertising, including online scams, disinformation campaigns, misleading commercial practices and the promotion of illegal products and services. They also support effective supervision and enforcement of the Digital Services Act. The call asks for feedback on the technical guidelines. It does not set out a closed list of specification areas.
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| DSA duties for designated VLOPs and VLOSEs apply | August 25, 2023 |
| Call for evidence published | November 4, 2026 |
| Call for evidence closes | December 2, 2026 |
Who should file evidence by December 2, 2026?
The Commission invites researchers, civil society organisations, journalists, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs, and representatives from the advertising industry, and the call stays open until December 2, 2026. For a compliance team the actors who must act are the EU-designated very large online platform providers, the EU-designated very large online search engine providers, and advertising industry representatives whose campaigns run on those services.
The notice says those responses will help to shape the guidelines. A provider or an industry representative that does not file by December 2, 2026 leaves the Commission to shape the technical guidelines without that input. The notice does not describe a later consultation round, and it does not give a publication date for the guidelines.
Obsidian tracks texts under the DSA in 12 jurisdictions, as of November 2026. The advertising-repository guidelines in this call are an EU-level exercise of the Commission, aimed at the repositories of designated VLOPs and VLOSEs. The regulation card records that DSA duties for those designated services apply from August 25, 2023.
What should a response cover before December 2, 2026?
A useful response is evidence that helps the Commission shape technical guidelines so that, once adopted, VLOP and VLOSE advertising repositories are effective. File it on the call for evidence page before December 2, 2026.
- Confirm whether the organisation is a provider of an EU-designated VLOP or VLOSE, or a representative of the advertising industry, or one of the other groups the notice names (researchers, civil society, journalists).
- Describe how the repository makes information about ads available to the public and easy to access.
- State what would make that repository effective once the guidelines are adopted, from the respondent's own practice.
- Where the respondent detects risks in online advertising, name which of the risks the notice lists (online scams, disinformation campaigns, misleading commercial practices, promotion of illegal products and services) the repository should help surface.
- Where the respondent is a national authority or supports supervision, say how the repository supports supervision and enforcement of the Digital Services Act.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring is what surfaces a Commission call of this kind on the day it is published.
What follows if no evidence is filed by December 2, 2026?
The guidelines will be shaped without that respondent's input. The notice of November 4, 2026 does not state a penalty for missing the call, and it does not say that a repository which later differs from guidelines that are not yet adopted is already a breach. The only dated consequence in the notice is the close of the call on December 2, 2026.
After December 2, 2026 the Commission will have only the evidence that was filed. Teams that need the guidelines to reflect how their repository works have to put that evidence in before the call closes.
Before December 2, 2026, confirm whether the service is an EU-designated VLOP or VLOSE or whether the firm represents the advertising industry, draft evidence on how the repository makes ad information public and easy to access, and file it on the call for evidence. Brief the team that owns the repository that the guidelines are not yet adopted and that this call is the input window the notice gives. Obsidian keeps the DSA record, including this guideline process, in one jurisdiction-level watch.
