Transparent political advertising as the democratic default.
The Taurus is an independent compliance platform for Regulation (EU) 2024/900 — the EU Political Advertising Regulation. We provide the infrastructure that makes it straightforward for advertisers to create legally compliant transparency notices and for publishers to verify them before publication.
Origin
The Taurus was born from firsthand experience with political advertising. Founder Severin Kistner ran for mayor in Starnberg, Germany, receiving 43% of the vote in the runoff election. During the campaign, it became clear how much administrative effort is required to properly implement the transparency obligations under the new EU regulation — especially for local campaigns without in-house legal departments. That experience fed directly into the product: The Taurus maps exactly the workflows that are actually needed on the ground in a political campaign.
Why this exists
The Political Advertising Regulation introduces substantial new obligations for anyone who sponsors, prepares, places, or publishes political advertising in the European Union. The requirements are detailed, the deadlines are real, and the penalties are severe. Yet the tools available to comply are fragmented — spreadsheets, email chains, PDF templates. The Taurus replaces that with a structured, auditable process that serves both sides of the advertising relationship.
Principles
Every field, every validation rule, every legal reference in the wizard maps directly to the requirements of Art. 9 PAR and the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1410. We built the product from the regulation outward, not the other way around.
The Taurus is open to all parties, candidates, associations, and political organizations without exception. The platform is not aligned with any political direction. Transparency and legal compliance in political advertising are prerequisites for a functioning democracy — regardless of who is advertising.
Every published transparency notice receives a permanent ttad.eu URL. Notices remain accessible for the full publication period plus at least five years, as required by Art. 12 PAR. The public register is open, machine-readable, and free to access.
Company & founder
The Taurus is operated by Expanse UG (haftungsbeschränkt) & Co. KG, based in Munich, Germany. Expanse was founded by Severin Kistner and provides IT services and digital product development. Severin Kistner brings over ten years of experience in the IT industry — from software development and systems architecture to consulting across a wide range of sectors. The combination of deep technical expertise and firsthand campaign experience shapes how The Taurus is built. For legal details, see our imprint.