Individual Autonomy in AdTech: An EU Regulatory Perspective

In this Chapter, I examine four key approaches through which EU law regulates AdTech to safeguard individual autonomy. These approaches include: (1) consent mechanisms governing data processing, (2) transparency and control over profile-advertising matching parameters, (3) risk management and accountability measures, and (4) restrictions on the exploitation of users’ information and digital interface. Together, these regulatory strategies reflect the EU’s evolving emphasis on autonomy as an overarching legal principle, aiming to provide individuals with meaningful protections against the complex and often opaque practices of digital advertising systems. However, as I will demonstrate, the effectiveness of these mechanisms varies, and shifting autonomy protection to platforms and regulators risks reducing users to passive subjects rather than enabling genuine agency.