A new EU study conducted by AWO found that the digital advertising market is unsustainable: on the one hand, fundamental rights are undermined by the market’s focus on personal data, profiling and tracking, and on the other, publishers and advertisers complain about their lack of control and lack of competition. Indeed, the market is beset by a variety of problems: lack of transparency, lack of user control over their personal data, high energy intensity, fraud, dependency on large platforms, and ads funding harmful content, among others. Legislation such as the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, DSA, and consumer protection law does not address all of these problems, and the market’s rapid evolution and complexity act as clear barriers to effective enforcement. This panel will combine expertise from the policy, industry and digital rights sector to discuss the gaps in EU law applicable to the digital advertising market. Its aim will be to help chart the way forward for future EU legislation to make the digital advertising market more balanced and sustainable.
• Beyond the DMA, how can the digital advertising market be made more balanced and transparent?
• Beyond the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive and consumer law, how can we increase user control over their personal data in digital advertising?
• Beyond the DSA’s bans on targeting to minors and based on sensitive data, should other practices in the market be forbidden?
• How can the market be improved from an advertiser and publisher perspective while at the same time protecting fundamental rights?
• How can we encourage the growth of alternative models of digital advertising that rely on less personal data?
