Britney Spears is 38 years old, but she might as well be eight. The pop star hasn’t had full control over her life for more than a decade; legally speaking she has about as many rights as a child. Ever since a public breakdown in 2008, Spears’ autonomy has been suspended by a complex legal arrangement known as a conservatorship.

For most of this time, her dad, Jamie Spears, has taken control of her affairs – and has been compensated to the tune of more than $100,000 (£75,000) a year for doing so – but he temporarily stepped down last year for health reasons. Spears doesn’t want him back: the singer recently requested he be permanently removed from the conservator role. On Monday a judge ruled this wouldn’t be decided until 2021; the conservatorship will continue until then.

While the exact details of Spears’ conservatorship are unclear, the bottom line is that a court has determined she is incapable of making her own decisions. She is more than able to make money – she played 248 shows during her 2013-17 Las Vegas residency, getting $500,000 a gig – but not to freely spend it. Every single purchase she makes, even a coffee, is tracked in court documents and scrutinised. According to some legal experts, it is unusual for someone as young and industrious as Spears to be subject to a conservatorship: they are usually intended for people with conditions such as dementia, where there is little hope of getting better.

A growing #FreeBritney movement believes the singer is being exploited; her dad says that’s nonsense, he just wants what’s best for Spears and her $59m fortune (as it stood in 2018). But even if he does have her best interests at heart, the sweeping powers a conservatorship grants, and the extent to which these can be exploited, should alarm us all. It has certainly alarmed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives,” the ACLU tweeted last week. “If Britney Spears wants to regain her civil liberties … we are here to help her.” As the ACLU has noted, there are far less draconian alternatives to conservatorships that can support vulnerable people. The situation that Spears is in is clearly toxic. I don’t know about you, but I’m team #FreeBritney.

• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist