A Financial Times report claims that European mobile networks are preparing to stop displaying ads over the Web (without mentioning Google).
According to the publication, which cites anonymous sources, European mobile providers will install software in their data centers that will block ads on websites and applications, but not ads coming from social networks.
The plan would be devastating for businesses that depend on advertising, and its goal is of course to break Google's monopoly.
The FT publication states that “a European operator executive confirmed that several companies plan to start blocking ads from this year” with software that will be optionally available, but there is also the possibility of applying the blocking technology to entire mobile networks.
Let us recall that Google has already begun to be considered a competitor to all mobile providers with Project Fi, a service that offers cheap internet and only charges for the data consumed by the end user.
So it is very natural for mobile and internet providers to desire the "annihilation" of their new rival.
Of course, we can't know if this is possible, as European networks can test ad blocking software, but Google won't go down without a fight. Besides, it's a bit difficult for the European Commission to allow them to block ads on websites for their own benefit.
Internet users are free and we want to believe that they will continue to use special software like Adblock on their computers. Providers, on the other hand, would do well to watch their own business.
