Event: The Digital Fairness Act and Digital Advertising - A Startup Perspective

On June 24, 2025, we hosted a timely and important roundtable discussion on “The Digital Fairness Act and Digital Advertising – A Startup Perspective.” As the European Commission develops the Digital Fairness Act (DFA), this event addressed a pressing question: how can Europe support consumer protection while enabling startups to thrive in an evolving regulatory environment?

Startups across the EU increasingly depend on personalised advertising to reach customers, grow, and compete with larger players. With the DFA under development, there is a critical need for a clear and proportionate policy framework that enables innovation without undermining consumer trust.

The event featured two key presentations:

• A new economic study, “Personal Touch: A €100 billion boost to EU competitiveness from personalised ads,” presented by Dr. Antonin Bergeaud, Associate Professor in Economics at HEC Paris, and Martin Thelle, Partner at Implement Consulting. Their analysis demonstrated the immense value of personalised advertising to the EU economy – particularly for startups – and warned of the potential losses from overly restrictive regulations.
• An overview of the upcoming stakeholder consultation for the Digital Fairness Act, presented by Benedicte Van Ormelingen, Team Leader of the Digital Fairness Team at DG JUST, European Commission. Her presentation outlined key policy areas under review, including dark patterns, addictive design, and consumer vulnerability, with the goal of ensuring startup-friendly regulation and harmonised consumer protections.

We would like to thank Dr. Antonin Bergeaud, Martin Thelle, and Benedicte Van Ormelingen for their insightful contributions, and all participants of the discussion.