Beyond relational ethics: How platform governance and algorithmic opacity reshape client-agency ethics in digital marketing

Purpose Client-agency ethics in digital marketing are increasingly shaped by platform governance. While prior research emphasises internal and relational ethical tensions, such as dyadic information asymmetry and bilateral opportunism, this study examines how platform governance and algorithmic opacity reconfigure the evidentiary and evaluative conditions of client-agency ethical judgement. Methodology The study draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with 14 senior agency practitioners and 7 small-to-medium-sized clients in the UK (conducted between 2025 and 2026), analysed abductively using thematic analysis. Findings Three interlinked dynamics are identified: platform-governed information asymmetry , where platforms restrict access to causal data and algorithm update information; attribution-accountability indeterminacy , where performance outcomes cannot be credibly attributed to agency activity or platform change; and an answerability-adaptability impasse, where agencies must justify and adapt strategy under significant evidentiary constraint, provoking client scepticism and strategic paralysis. Contributions The study advances client-agency and platform governance research in three ways. First, it reconceptualises the client-agency relationship as a platform-governed triad, positioning platforms as constitutive non-human actors. Second, it reframes key information asymmetries as structurally produced rather than relationally resolvable. Third, it identifies a boundary condition for relational governance, demonstrating how platform governance and algorithmic opacity undermine the visibility and evaluability required for these mechanisms to function. The analysis also outlines implications for agency value and regulatory safeguards in platform-governed client-agency relationships.