The Consent Paradox or Why Tracking-Based Advertising is Structurally Unlawful Under EU Law

This short paper argues that tracking-based advertising (“TBA”) is becoming structurally unlawful under the GDPR. While consent is formally recognized as the primary legal basis for processing personal data, recent case law and regulatory practice demonstrate that valid consent cannot be lawfully obtained within the logic of the TBA ecosystem. Building on the CJEU’s case law and the recent Brussels Court of Appeal ruling on the Transparency & Consent Framework, the paper shows how judi