No, the GDPR does not forbid this, as I wrote. The GDPR does not state that consent cannot be exchanged for anything. The GDPR will look at whether consent is

No, the GDPR does not forbid this, as I wrote. The GDPR does not state that consent cannot be exchanged for anything. The GDPR will look at whether consent is necessary for the performance of a contract and/or provision of service. So the argument that this is allowed is two-fold: - this is free content made publicly available: There is no contract or provision of service. - this content is provided free thanks to ads: Consent is necessary to provide the contents. The GDPR is not meant to force companies to work for free and it does not force them to.