Ad block: Difference between revisions

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.com/2014/0…

Btw I’ve always said myself that using adblock is a bit like stealing. |url=https://xcancel.com/LeaVerou/status/430039668134920192 |url-status=live |website=[[XCancel]]}}</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 |website=[[XCancel]]}}</ref> and Linus Sebastian claims it's [[wikipedia:Online_piracy|piracy]]{{Citation needed}}. 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 |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.

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 |website=Chrome for Developers |at=The phase-out timeline}}</ref>, has made Chrome incompatible with '''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 |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=uBlock Origin}}</ref> 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 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref> Fully featured '''uBlock Origin''' remains available and in active development for other web browsers such as Firefox and Brave.