Adblocking: The ability to silence the constant barrage of ads is a wonderful discovery, unless you're an advertiser who depends on them to make money. This tension between the media and adblocking organizationshasnow become a legal battle in Germany, after some newspapers took AdBlock to court! The newspapers, including Die Zeit and Handelsblatt, claim that the browser pluginis an anti-competitive product that threatens their businesses.
The judges in Hamburg, however, seem to have a different opinion on the matter, having ruled in favor of AdBlock, even saying that the software that "saved" you from watching that awful Kate Upton ad for the thousandth time is completely legal!
That said, questions have been raised about AdBlock Plus ' controversial whitelisting service , which has been labeled a scam . Advertisers whose content is not objectionable can apply to have their material displayed to internet users. All was well until some anonymous users claimed they were asked to take 30% of revenue to remain on the list.
Of course, the company refuted the claim to BBC News, saying that if the accusation was true, they would be “terrible fraudsters since 90% of the people on the list don’t pay anything.” Hurt by their defeat in the courtroom, the German newspapers have already begun preparations to appeal, so we can expect to hear a lot more about this controversy and the “ethical dilemmas” of using adblocking softwareinthe near future!
