Ad block: Difference between revisions
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Advertisements are increasingly showing up in devices (e.g., [[Samsung ads in refrigerators|refrigerators]], [[Stellantis in-car advertisements|cars]], televisions) built right into their system software, making ad blocking difficult. | Advertisements are increasingly showing up in devices (e.g., [[Samsung ads in refrigerators|refrigerators]], [[Stellantis in-car advertisements|cars]], televisions) built right into their system software, making ad blocking difficult. | ||
There are efforts to use copyright law (e.g., DMCA/ | There are efforts to use copyright law (e.g., DMCA/Spotify/Revanced, and German court case) to force consumers to play ads or run other programs on devices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claburn |first=Thomas |date=2025-08-15 |title=No more Blocktoberfest? German court throws book at ad blockers |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260113010801/https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/ |archive-date=13 Jan 2026|website=The Register}}</ref> | ||
Lea Verou claims that ad-blocking is theft,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Verou |first=Lea |date=2014-02-02 |title=Excellent points by @codepo8 against Adblock: christianheilmann.co... Btw I’ve always said myself that using adblock is a bit like stealing. |url=https://xcancel.com/LeaVerou/status/430039668134920192 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/2fWiJ |archive-date=2026-04-16 |website=XCancel ([[Twitter]]/[[X]])}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Verou |first=Lea |date=2014-10-03 |title=.@branmovic On websites whose business model is primarily selling ad space, AdBlock is morally equivalent to theft IMO. |url=https://xcancel.com/LeaVerou/status/518154828166725632 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/wv1kN |archive-date=2026-04-16 |website=XCancel ([[Twitter]]/[[X]])}}</ref> and Linus Sebastian claims it's [[wikipedia:Online_piracy|piracy]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sebastian |first=Linus |date=2022-01-28 |title=Linus Tech Tips (@LinusTech): "Online websites and creators are supported by ads. I thought that was pretty common knowledge? Ad blocking is the exact same thing as piracy. Literally the exact same thing. Ppl will still do it and I've been guilty of it at times, but we just need to be aware of the impact- LS |url=https://nitter.net/LinusTech/status/1486925588199718912#m |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/asEtn |archive-date=2026-04-16 |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Nitter ([[Twitter]]/[[X]])}}</ref>. Christian Heilmann<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heilmann |first=Christian |date=2014-02-02 |title=Why “just use Adblock” should never be a professional answer |url=https://christianheilmann.com/2014/02/02/why-just-use-adblock-should-never-be-a-professional-answer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260216181653/https://christianheilmann.com/2014/02/02/why-just-use-adblock-should-never-be-a-professional-answer/ |archive-date=2026-02-16 |website=Christian Heilmann Blog}}</ref> and Doc Searls<ref>{{Cite web |last=Searls |first=Doc |date=2015-08-12 |title=Separating advertising’s wheat and chaff |url=https://doc.searls.com/2015/08/12/separating-advertisings-wheat-and-chaff/ |url-status=live |website=Doc Searls Weblog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Searls |first=Doc |date=2015-08-12 |title=Separating advertising’s wheat and chaff |url=https://dsearls.medium.com/separating-advertisings-wheat-and-chaff-47858adfcb20 |url-status=live |website=[[Medium]]}}</ref> say that [https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads acceptable] and non-tracking (de-personalized) ads should be incentivized in order to reduce intrusive ads. | |||
==Technologies== | ==Technologies== | ||
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===Web browsers=== | ===Web browsers=== | ||
Web browser extensions that block ads are some of the most popular extensions,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top rated extensions |url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?promoted=recommended&sort=rating&type=extension |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Add-ons for Firefox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top charts |url=https://chromewebstore.google.com/top-charts/popular |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Chrome Web Store}}</ref> some browsers even have ad blocking built in.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vivaldi Browser Features |url=https://vivaldi.com/features/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Vivaldi Browser}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=uazo/cromite |url=https://github.com/uazo/cromite |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=GitHub}}</ref> This is likely in response to [[advertising overload]] that has made the Web difficult to use prior to their inception, | Web browser extensions that block ads are some of the most popular extensions,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top rated extensions |url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?promoted=recommended&sort=rating&type=extension |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Add-ons for Firefox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top charts |url=https://chromewebstore.google.com/top-charts/popular |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Chrome Web Store}}</ref> some browsers even have ad blocking built in.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vivaldi Browser Features |url=https://vivaldi.com/features/ |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Vivaldi Browser}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=uazo/cromite |url=https://github.com/uazo/cromite |url-status=live |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=GitHub}}</ref> This is likely in response to [[advertising overload]] that has made the Web difficult to use prior to their inception. Obtrusive advertising has remained to be a problem to this day, and continuous evolution of ad blocking in web browsers in response has produced what is probably the most prolific ad blocking culture today, leveraging openness of the web platform. | ||
Web's openness, however, is threatened by Google's dominance in the web browser market. A change to browser extension interfaces in Google Chrome browser, broadly known as "Manifest V3", and support for older interfaces phased out across 2024-2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=David |date=2023-11-16 |title=Resuming the transition to Manifest V3 |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3#the_phase-out_timeline |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260412231934/https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3#the_phase-out_timeline |archive-date=2026-04-12 |website=Chrome for Developers |at=The phase-out timeline}}</ref>, has made Chrome incompatible with [https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock uBlock Origin], one of the most popular ad blockers for the web, as well as hindering functionality of numerous other browser extensions. This act prompted the creators of uBlock Origin to develop '''uBlock Origin Lite''' with less comprehensive blocking features, but compatible with Chrome's new extension interface.<ref>{{Cite web |title=uBlock Origin - Free, open-source ad blocker extension |url=https://ublockorigin.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260412070805/https://ublockorigin.com/ |archive-date=2026-04-12 |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=uBlock Origin}}</ref> The Electronic Frontier Foundation considers this change "another example of the inherent conflict of interest that comes from Google controlling both the dominant web browser and one of the largest internet advertising networks" and "outright harmful to privacy efforts".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnett |first=Daly |date=2021-12-09 |title=Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/chrome-users-beware-manifest-v3-deceitful-and-threatening |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260416025017/https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/chrome-users-beware-manifest-v3-deceitful-and-threatening |archive-date=2026-04-16 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref> The regular, fully featured version of uBlock Origin remains available and in active development for other web browsers such as Firefox<ref>{{Cite web |title=uBlock Origin – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US) |url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260415030716/https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ |archive-date=2026-04-15 |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Add-ons for Firefox (en-US)}}</ref> and Opera<ref>{{Cite web |title=uBlock Origin extension |url=https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/ublock/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260413021756/https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/ublock/ |archive-date=2026-04-13 |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Opera add-ons}}</ref>. | |||
===Network level=== | ===Network level=== | ||
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====2. Utilizing pop-ups & overlays to deter ad block usage==== | ====2. Utilizing pop-ups & overlays to deter ad block usage==== | ||
Owners & developers of domains & websites can detect ad blockers & make it significantly harder to access content by putting in countermeasures such as Pop-Ups & Overlays. Sometimes they go as far as using techniques that somewhat resemble the [[Consent-or-pay]] method in order to encourage others to disable their ad filtering tool. | Owners & developers of domains & websites can detect ad blockers & make it significantly harder to access content by putting in countermeasures such as Pop-Ups & Overlays. Sometimes they go as far as using techniques that somewhat resemble the [[Consent-or-pay]] method in order to encourage others to disable their ad filtering tool. | ||
[[File: | [[File:Ad blocker warning example.png|thumb|Example of an anti-adblock pop-up resembling the "Consent-or-pay" tactic.]] | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||