Online advertising, particularly targeted advertising, is a fundamental enabler of the Internet economy. Not only do targeted ads allow marketers efficient access to specific audiences, but the higher revenue from these ads helps pay for the vast array of apps, content, and services that consumers access for free online. Some European lawmakers are pushing to ban personalized online ads, claiming that they harm consumer privacy. Given the EU’s extensive existing data privacy framework, consumer privacy is not at risk. However, banning targeted ads would hurt advertisers, app developers, media companies, content creators, and consumers by making online advertising less effective. A ban on targeted ads would reduce the €16 billion of spending on data-driven ads in the EU, threatening about €6 billion of advertising income for app developers. As a result, European consumers would face the prospect of a radically different Internet: more ads that are less relevant, lower quality online content and services, and more paywalls.
The Value of Personalized Advertising in Europe
Benjamin Mueller
Benjamin Mueller is a senior policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, focusing on AI and technology governance. Prior to joining the Center he was chief of staff at a financial technology company in London. Dr. Mueller studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford, and completed his PhD in International Relations at the London School of Economics.
Daniel Castro
Daniel Castro is president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s top-ranked think tank for science and technology policy, where he leads the organization’s work shaping debates on critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. He is a prolific writer and respected public speaker on issues ranging from Internet policy and digital governance to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Castro also founded and is director of ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation, a leading voice on open data, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. He has played a key role in advancing the OPEN Government Data Act and has long worked on the policy and economic impact of data-driven innovation. His work on AI spans a broad range of policy issues, including adoption and diffusion, privacy and security, intellectual property, deepfakes and information integrity, and the economic and competitive dynamics of AI, as well as global competition and governance—particularly in China and Europe.
