Startup Law Lab. Volume VIII: “Advertising, Politics & Ethics in the Age of AI”

On 28 January 2026, we hosted the eighth instalment of our Startup Law Lab series to explore a highly topical issue alongside State Secretary Alexander Pröll: artificial intelligence at the intersection of advertising, politics and ethics.

Artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities for political, social and corporate communication: from intelligent personalisation and dialogue-oriented chatbots to data-driven decision-making. Used correctly, AI enhances transparency, participation and innovation – and enables communication that is more people-centred. At the same time, the line between legitimate persuasion and manipulative influence can become blurred.

We were delighted to welcome State Secretary Alexander Pröll as our guest, who, together with Saskia Leopold, a partner at ATTYS Rechtsanwälte, took part in a discussion exploring the opportunities, scope for innovation and forward-looking areas of application at the intersection of law, politics and technology. The evening was moderated by Sophie Drescher from the Startup Service of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

The discussion between politics and the law highlighted specific issues:

• The Austrian Federal Government’s digitalisation agenda.
• AI overload: Too much AI is making content increasingly uninteresting, and people are increasingly turning away from it. Keyword: uniformity.
• Mandatory labelling for AI-generated content.
• Automated lobbying communications.
• Digital avatars and the digital twin. Would you create a digital twin of yourself?
• New advertising regulations for political campaigns.

The event highlighted the need for a balanced regulatory framework that fosters innovation whilst safeguarding democratic values and consumer protection.