Silver Consumers in a Digital Marketplace. Enhancing Protections for the Vulnerable Older Generation

The paper analyses the position of older consumers in digital markets, arguing that traditional EU private law categories fail to adequately address age-related vulnerabilities emerging in contemporary market environments. While older persons represent an increasingly significant consumer group, EU consumer and data protection law continue to rely on the abstract model of the rational and autonomous «average consumer», leaving ageing users structurally under-protected. The paper conceptualises vulnerability as a systemic condition arising from the interaction between age-related cognitive and social factors and digitally mediated market architectures characterised by opacity, profiling and behavioural influence. It critically examines the fragmented responses offered by consumer law, data protection and platform regulation, and advances a reconceptualization of vulnerability as a dynamic and relational condition. Drawing on comparative insights into legal frameworks addressing vulnerable consumers, the paper argues for ex ante, age-sensitive regulatory strategies grounded in autonomy, dignity and inclusion.