Privacy Protection in Digital Marketing: Theoretical Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

The widespread adoption of digital marketing has profoundly transformed the way companies collect, process, and leverage customer data. While this evolution enables increasing personalization of commercial offerings, it also raises growing concerns regarding consumer privacy protection. This article aims to examine, through a conceptual and theoretical analysis, the tensions underlying the relationship between the exploitation of personal data and respect for individuals’ fundamental rights in the digital environment. To this end, it draws on the main conceptual contributions related to digital privacy, personal data, and data governance, while also relying on several established theoretical frameworks, notably Privacy Calculus Theory and Contextual Integrity Theory. A review of the international empirical literature is subsequently presented, bringing together studies conducted in North American, European, and Asian contexts, focusing on the personalization paradox, consumer trust, and the economic effects of data-related regulations. The findings of this synthesis reveal a persistent tension between the imperatives of marketing performance and consumers’ growing expectations regarding transparency and control over their personal information. Focusing on the Moroccan context, this essentially theoretical article finally identifies avenues for empirical research that could provide further insight into these dynamics among Moroccan firms and consumers, particularly in light of the evolution of the Moroccan legal framework and its gradual convergence with international standards.