Ad blockers under threat from Google, Microsoft & others

Credit: NetClean Development/Google

Do you enjoy advertisements interfering with your Web content? If not, you’re not alone, judging from the success of ad blocking software. Not surprisingly, advertisers are less enthusiastic, & there are claims that some of them are planning to do something about it in court.

http://www.itproportal.com/2014/12/09/ad-blockers-come-fire-internet-giants/

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Google-Others-Threaten-to-Sue-Adblock-Plus-Creator-467035.shtml

Hard to see how the complainants have a case.

Underlying this is the fact that, in the end, someone has to pay for Web content. Anything that doesn’t come at a direct cost, comes at an indirect cost. Usually, “indirect cost”, means advertising. If you have an alternative, there is a huge audience out there anxious to listen.

If Google is going to sue publishers of ad blocking software, what will they do about such software on their own sites?

AdBlock Plus for Chrome
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock-plus-for-chrome/kcobmjifdimfbihnbnafhcpmifgmjlka?hl=en

AdBlock
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom?hl=en / Internet giants media publishers Google Microsoft Le Figaro newspaper threatening legal action developers develop developer software block ads advertisement consumer websites rely advertising Japan Today $545 billion spent global advertising digital ads ad blocking software apps general public handful tech-savvy individuals Adblock Plus most popular ad blocking browser add-on active users in France United Kingdom Spain Adobe software developer Adblock 144 million active users worldwide publishers revenue alarming considering legal action no small matter affects all publishers advertising revenue Laure de Lataillade CEO GESTE association of web publishers gaming media music Sean Blanchfield CEO PageFair campaign against ad blockers Napster’s demise Google launch alternative web advertising Google Contributor charges users websites tested sites Mashable The Onion Science Daily /