A Path Forward for Fair Personalized Marketing in EU Policy

09:40 – 10:30 | Panel I: Streamlining Fair Data Protection: Saving GDPR and the Risk-Based Approach

As digital marketing becomes increasingly personalized (and scrutinized), the EU faces a critical policy crossroads. Can the GDPR’s risk-based approach still provide a workable framework for balancing innovation, consumer protection, and legal compliance in an AI-driven ecosystem? Or will the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act mark a regulatory turning point that imposes more rigid boundaries on personalization practices? This panel will examine whether these evolving rules offer long-overdue legal clarity or risk stifling legitimate and privacy-conscious marketing strategies.  

• Alexandra Jaspar, Member of the Executive Committee, APD
• Sachiko Scheuing, European Privacy and AI Governance Officer, Acxiom
• Karolina Mojzesowicz, Deputy Head of Unit Data Protection at DG JUST, European Commission

Moderated by Robin de Wouters, Director General

11:15 – 12:00 | Panel II: Responsible Personalization: How Marketers Can Create Fair Relevance for Customers

One of the core goals of the upcoming Digital Fairness Act is to ensure that personalization practices do not exploit consumers’ vulnerabilities, whether intentionally or negligently. This panel will explore how marketers can design and deploy personalization strategies that are fair, ethical, and compliant by leveraging existing tools under the GDPR’s risk-based approach, consumer protection law, and privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). Panelists will share practical approaches for identifying and mitigating risks of manipulation, implementing safeguards for vulnerable audiences, including minors, and ensuring relevance, fairness and control throughout the customer journey.

• Matt Radford, CEO, Vulnerable Paths
• Nathalie Laneret, VP Government Affairs and Public Policy, Criteo
• More speakers announced soon

• The continued relevance of the risk-based approach in EU data policy
• Navigating the line between manipulation and legitimate personalization
• Ensuring transparency, choice, and control in personalized services
• Aligning regulatory and industry perspectives to foster trust and innovation
• Leveraging Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) for ethical personalization

• EU policymakers and regulators
• Data protection officers and legal experts
• Marketing and advertising professionals
• Privacy advocates and civil society representatives
• Technology providers and innovators