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Microsoft And Google Threaten to Sue Adblock Plus Creator


Matsuda

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A French group of publishers, including top names such as Microsoft and Google, are planning to sue developers of ad-blocking software because of the impact that their solutions have on their web-based solutions.

Ad blockers have grown a lot in popularity lately, and Adblock Plus is the living example that such an application can really enjoy a terrific success if it comes with an effective engine and easy-to-use options.

At this point, Adblock Plus alone has no less than 5 million users in France, approximately 2 million in the United Kingdom, and 1.5 million in Spain. According to Times of India stats, no less than 144 million users worldwide are now turning to Adblock Plus in search for cleaner browsing, up 69 percent from the year before.

The success registered by Adblock Plus leads to more surprising figures: depending on a number of factors, including the visited website, up to 60 percent of the Internet users installed such an application to block ads.

Publishers looking for ways to block these apps

As a result of the growing appetite for ad blockers, French publishers, including Microsoft, Google, and local online newspapers, are threatening to sue companies developing such applications, hoping that such a decision would lead to fewer users deploying such solutions.

Some of these websites are entirely backed with funds generated from online ads, so the bigger the number of users who block the ads, the lower the income generated by each webpage.

The online version of French newspaper L'Equipe, which is one of the companies that could file a legal complaint against ad-blocking app developers, decided to restrict access to its website for users who are running such programs on their computers.

"Unauthorized access. L'Equipe.fr is funded by advertising, which allows us to offer you free content,” the message provided to users with Adblock Plus installed reads.

Xavier Spender, deputy managing director of L'Equipe group, says that users can get rid of ads if they pay for a premium subscription, but as long as they go for the freeware version, advertisements need to be displayed in order to generate revenues.

Up to 40 percent loss in online advertising

There's no doubt that ad blockers indeed reduce publishers' revenues, and Laure de Lataillade, CEO of GESTE, a company that represents publishers in several industry sectors, claims that this loss sometimes reaches 40 percent. All because of third-party apps that users install to block ads, she says.

Some, however, are wondering if the ad model employed by these websites is actually at fault for this drop, as in many of these cases, users need to turn to such applications in order to make sure that they're not attacked with ads once they load a page.



Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Google-Others-Threaten-to-Sue-Adblock-Plus-Creator-467035.shtml

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Ohhh my not this b.s. again.

If I want to see adverts I will buy a magazine or watch a t.v. channel apart from the B.B.C.

When I surf the net, I don't want pop-up after pop-up or advert after advert being shoved in my face.

I once left my ad-blocker off whilst surfing eBay, ohh my word it took me ages.

Hurrar for ad-blockers!

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I have my adblocker turned off here. That is it.

Of course, as this is my main hangout now.

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@msft/google, you a$$h0les.

What's a common thing about a$sh0les?

-damn, they f@rts!

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MidnightDistortions

What exactly constitutes them getting ad revenue? By you clicking on the link? I don't want my browser cluttered with ads and it's the same for tv shows or movies. I'd rather get the dvd and not have to worry about watching ads. If i have the money to spend on something most likely i'll visit Amazon and browse there. These companies spend too much on advertisements when people do not have or wish to spend their hard earned money. I buy what i need, not what a company thinks i need. Advertisements is a dying form of getting people to buy products. It might work for some but most of the time i don't really care what they have to sell, i don't have the money for it anyway so despite me blocking their ads, its' not going to matter whether i block them or not, i won't be buying it.

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There are ads I like like gears, latest pc/laptop, etc.

When I'm researching or visiting a site for the first time, I wouldn't want to be spending time seeing ads but its content the site has to offer.

Of course, I turn off my adblocker when I like the site and express my support.

I think that its the ad business model is at fault.

They should not display ads for a first few visit to their site and implies that if we like their site and hope to support them then we should allow their non-intrusive, non-distracting ads. ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

They'd really hate me then. not only do i use adblock latitude <i use palemoon. but i also use ghostery and greasemonkey + anti adblock killer script for those sites which can tell that you using adblock plus, and customize your web.

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Whats Ad's?

dam people need to learn who to use their browsers tools

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i use a number of ad-blockers, Ghostery, AB, AB+ and unChecky for software installer adware

i see what i want to see, not what i'm told to see (apart from on NSANE and sites that ask nicely and don't bombard you with content)

i do miss the "deals" that Google use to show when comparing prices, but i now use a chrome extension for that or 123pricecheck.com

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