CNIL studies value of personal data in advertising
17/11/2025 | French DPA
A study commissioned by the French data protection authority, the CNIL, examined French citizens' willingness to sell their personal data in exchange for compensation for online advertising. The survey of 2,082 individuals found that 65% of respondents were willing to sell their data. However, the remaining 35% were unwilling to sell their data at any price, reflecting a principled rejection of the monetisation of privacy. Among those willing to sell, the most common price range was between €10 and €30 per month, favoured by 28% of respondents, while only 6% would accept less than €1.
The results indicated that the majority of respondents performed an economic balancing act, weighing the perceived threat to their privacy against the proposed financial compensation, aligning with "privacy calculus theory." While those who valued privacy highly tended to demand higher compensation, 71% of those willing to sell were prepared to do so for an amount between €1 and €100.
The study also estimated an approximate market price for personal data at around €40 per month.
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