The CMA in the UK did an investigation into this, and targeting is worth a 30% bump in price. It is very effective for all parties.
That being said, it is possible to get around this. The trade-off is: the privacy cost versus efficiency of advertising. I don't think there are any easy solutions short of coming down definitively on privacy. All the pop-ups are very annoying, and introduce friction to just using the website (I go onto Google, I search, I click result, stuff starts leaping on my screen...Agree to this...ad blocker on? Do this please...what a mess).
That being said, it is possible to get around this. The trade-off is: the privacy cost versus efficiency of advertising. I don't think there are any easy solutions short of coming down definitively on privacy. All the pop-ups are very annoying, and introduce friction to just using the website (I go onto Google, I search, I click result, stuff starts leaping on my screen...Agree to this...ad blocker on? Do this please...what a mess).