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Senator asks FTC to investigate questionable ad blocking practices (updated)
You're not the only one concerned that ad blocking companies may have taken customers for a ride by whitelisting advertisers willing to pay. Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to the FTC asking the regulator to investigate ad blocking companies over "unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive" practices, including implementing whitelists without giving users a choice. When AdBlock was sold to an unnamed buyer and joined Adblock Plus' Acceptable Ads whitelist program, it "likely" broke federal law by automatically changing privacy terms without obtaining the necessary explicit permission.
German court says ad-blocking is legal
Germany's supreme court has dismissed a landmark case brought by a publisher looking to destroy ad-blocking services in the country. European behemoth Axel Springer was defeated in its years-long battle with Eyeo, the firm that owns AdBlock Plus. Springer argued that blocking adverts was in violation of competition law, while AdBlock's whitelist strategy was legally dubious.
Potentially 'undefeatable' ad blocker looks at content, not code
Facebook may have just lost its war on ad blockers. That is, if a new method developed by Princeton and Stanford researchers is implemented into a widely available blocker. Computer scientist Arvind Narayanan and his colleagues detailed unveiled a tool that detects ads the same way humans would, by looking at things like container sizes, icon graphics and words like "Sponsored." It's called Perceptual Ad Blocker, and is already available as a Chrome extension for you to test out yourself. But in an attempt to avoid getting into the ethics around ad-blocking, the system only covers detected ads with words like "This is an ad," instead of removing them altogether.
Netflix taunts ad blocking crowd with 'Black Mirror' ads
You might not like that companies are trying to either discourage ad blocking or serve ads regardless, but at least they're getting creative about it. Netflix is promoting its bleak drama Black Mirror by serving special ads just to people spotted using ad blocking software. "You cannot see the ad. But the ad can see you," Mashable saw in one example. The ad is certainly consistent with Black Mirror's notion of technological breakthroughs gone wrong, but it may come as a surprise if you'd installed a blocker precisely to avoid this kind of media blitz.
Adblock Plus' ad network is off to a rough start
When Adblock Plus unveiled its own ad network in a bid to make money from toned-down ads, it raised more than a few eyebrows... including those of its supposed ad partners. While the company said that its Acceptable Ads Platform would supply ads from Google and AppNexus, it turns out that it was merely relying on a go-between company (ComboTag) to get those ads. It hadn't asked the underlying ad providers about a deal -- and now, they want out. Both Google and AppNexus are ending their associations with ComboTag, leaving Adblock Plus without much of a leg to stand on.
Adblock Plus launches its very own ad network
The immensely popular (and sometimes controversial) Adblock Plus browser extension is taking the next step in its crusade to clean up online advertising -- even if that effort comes at a cost to users and publishers. On Tuesday, Adblock Plus announced it is joining the ranks of those online advertisers and launching its own ad network called the Acceptable Ads Platform.
Windows 10 update adds AdBlock support to the Edge browser
AdBlock and AdBlock Plus are no longer exclusive to Windows Insider Program participants. Microsoft's anniversary update for Windows 10 doesn't only come with Cortana voice commands (and many other features), it also adds support for the ad blocker to your Edge browser. This version is based off the extension's code for Chrome instead of Internet Explorer, but you might encounter some issues anyway since it's still in development. Of course, you'll have to wait for the anniversary update first before you can install the add-on and tweak its (potentially problematic) whitelist. You're bound to get it within the coming weeks, so long as you're running Windows 10.
AdBlock and AdBlock Plus are available for Microsoft Edge
Back in March, Microsoft started testing a version of its new Edge browser on Windows 10 with support for extensions. Now, one of the most-requested features is covered with the introduction of AdBlock and AdBlock Plus extensions for Edge. The feature list appears to be mostly intact from its Chrome and Firefox iterations, with the ability to block varying levels of ads or whitelist certain sites (like... Engadget.com for example).
Opera's speedy built-in ad-blocking goes wide and mobile
Back in March, Opera introduced its native ad-blocking feature to developers. Today, the feature is available to everyone -- on desktop and mobile. The company claims that compared to Chrome, browsing with its native ad-blocking on is 45 percent faster than Google's browser with third-party ad-blocking extensions running. Beyond that, Opera says that the update makes pages load up to 89 percent faster than without the feature activated.
AdBlock Plus wants to help you pay the sites you visit most
With hundreds of millions of internet users choosing to block ads, publishers are being forced to adopt new strategies to survive. Paywalls are one option, but they often put off readers who wish to visit a website just to read one article. As companies scramble to provide a middle ground between subscriptions and pay-per-story services, an unlikely new challenger has emerged: AdBlock Plus. Known for its browser apps and extensions, the service has teamed up with micro-transaction specialist Flattr to let people pay the publishers they visit most regularly.
Newspaper giants threaten Brave over its ad-swapping browser
You remember how Brave's web browser pays you to see replacement ads (overriding a site's usual ads) when you don't pay to block promos outright? Yeah, publishers aren't very happy about that. A coalition of 17 news giants, including the New York Times and Dow Jones, has sent Brave a letter claiming that its ad-swapping business model is illegal. Allegedly, the approach is tantamount to copyright infringement. It's "indistinguishable" from stealing articles and posting them on another site, according to the publishers. The group also doesn't buy the argument that Bitcoin payments and revenue sharing will make up for the lack of native ads -- those methods "cannot begin to compensate" for the lost income.
Latest Windows 10 preview brings Edge browser extensions
Microsoft has finally started testing the feature that could make its new Edge browser a real alternative to the likes of Chrome and Firefox: extensions. An updated browser with support for extensions is part of the new build rolling out to Preview users in the Fast ring. There are updates for both PCs and Mobile, although extensions are a desktop-only feature and there are only three of them available right now: Translate, Mouse Gestures and the Reddit Enhancement Suite. Versions of popular extensions from the likes of AdBlock Plus, LastPass, Amazon and more are promised to arrive later this year. The video below explains how the installation process works, so you can watch that while your computer updates.
AdBlock replacing ads with anti-censorship messages tomorrow
We've seen Malaysia ban access to Medium and Russia do the same for Wikipedia, so if you thought Amnesty International would sit on the sidelines for World Day Against Cyber Censorship this year, you're sorely mistaken. On March 12th, the human rights organization is teaming with AdBlock to replace online ads with messages from artist Ai Weiwei, Edward Snowden and Russian punk rockers Pussy Riot -- themselves all victims of overzealous government censorship.
Opera's desktop web browser gets built-in ad blocking
If you use a major desktop web browser, you usually have to hunt down an ad blocking add-on if you're determined to purge intrusive promos from your internet experience. You won't have to go scrounging if you're an Opera fan, however: the company has released a developer version of its desktop browser with ad blocking built-in. It not only saves you the trouble of finding an extension, but takes the challenge out of it -- there's a simple on/off switch, and you'll get a mix of benchmarking and stats to show how effective the blocking is in real life.
Google backs away from banning dedicated Android ad blockers
Google's tough stance on dedicated Android ad blockers might be softening a bit. The company has reversed its decision to yank Adblock Fast from the Play Store following an appeal from the app's developer, Rocketship. Google hasn't officially said what prompted the change of heart (we'll let you know if it has a comment), but TechCrunch understands that Google had originally wanted to limit ad blocking to browsers where it's an option -- any stand-alone apps were against the rules for interfering with other software. Our understanding is that Google is now concerned solely with banning those apps that interfere without permission. Given that Rocketship was working with Samsung, that shouldn't be a problem.
Google pulls Samsung-backed ad blocker from the Play Store
Samsung may have stirred up more trouble than it was expecting when it started blocking ads in its Android web browser. Google has pulled Adblock Fast, the app partner for Samsung's feature, from the Play Store. Allegedly, the title (made by Rocketship Apps) violates Google Play's policies by interfering with other apps and services. That's a bit baffling, since Adblock Fast uses Samsung's own code and had the Korean firm's explicit blessing -- Adblock Plus is using the same code and hasn't run into trouble. The concern, as you can imagine, is that Google might be retaliating against Samsung for daring to hurt its bread-and-butter ad business.
Samsung's Android browser can now block ads
Ad blocking, it appears, is no longer just reserved for app developers -- device makers are getting in on the act too. After Apple led the way and ASUS recently announcing it would begin shipping devices with its own ad blocking software, The Verge reports that Samsung has enabled filters inside its pre-installed Android browser. It'll basically allow device owners to choose the ad units they see and render websites a lot quicker in the process.
Former Mozilla CEO's browser blocks (and replaces) web ads
Let's say you're Brendan Eich, the former CEO of Mozilla -- an organization that thrives on internet privacy. What would you do? If you guessed "build a privacy-minded web browser," you hit the nail on the head. Eich is developing Brave, a Chromium-based web browser that blocks all ads by default in the names of both privacy and speed. It'll supposedly be faster than installing all the relevant blocking tools yourself. However, this isn't strictly a power-to-the-people move... the Brave team has its own ad plans.
You say advertising, I say block that malware
The real reason online advertising is doomed and adblockers thrive? Its malware epidemic is unacknowledged, and out of control. The Forbes 30 Under 30 list came out this week and it featured a prominent security researcher. Other researchers were pleased to see one of their own getting positive attention, and visited the site in droves to view the list. On arrival, like a growing number of websites, Forbes asked readers to turn off ad blockers in order to view the article. After doing so, visitors were immediately served with pop-under malware, primed to infect their computers, and likely silently steal passwords, personal data and banking information. Or, as is popular worldwide with these malware "exploit kits," lock up their hard drives in exchange for Bitcoin ransom. One researcher commented on Twitter that the situation was "ironic" -- and while it's certainly another variant of hackenfreude, ironic isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe what happened.
ASUS' mobile devices will ship with built-in ad blocking
Ad blocking is now easy to find on just about every device you own, but it's rarely included from the get-go. However, ASUS aims to change that. As of early 2016, all of the company's web-capable mobile devices will ship with AdBlock Plus not only included with the company's proprietary browser, but switched on by default. If you tend to visit sites with intrusive ads, you won't have to lift a finger to get rid of most promos.
