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posted by janrinok on Friday July 22 2016, @11:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the is-'malware-protection'-OK? dept.

China will ban all software and hardware that blocks Internet advertisements:

In a document published by China's Commerce Bureau [in Chinese], the People's Republic of China laid out the framework for a new Internet policy advertising law that will take effect September 1. This new Internet policy contains some radical changes to China's existing Internet guidelines, such as a blanket ban on ad-blocking. The new policy also pushes significantly stricter advertising guidelines, however, which could make it more beneficial to both users and companies.

Under China's new Internet Policy article XVI, all software and hardware that intercepts, filters, covers, fast-forwards or in any way prevents an advertisement from being viewed is prohibited. The policy explicitly points out that ad-block capability in email clients is also prohibited, as is network-level hardware that that may contain ad-block features. In our reading of the document, it would appear China is doing this to encourage what it would consider fair economic development of the Internet.

The new advertising laws do make some attempts to protect individual users from certain types of advertisements. For example, advertisements for prescription drugs and tobacco products are banned, and any products designed for pharmaceutical purposes must be reviewed by China's advertising agency before they can be put online. Advertisements are also required to be clearly marked, and they cannot be disguised as other content in an attempt to trick users into clicking them. Pop-up ads will be restricted to clearly display their location, and they must contain a clearly marked close button so as not to trick users.

This is good news for anybody seeking to hack Chinese Internet users.


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  • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:02AM

    by DECbot (832) on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:02AM (#378865) Journal

    I block JavaScript. If not by browser extensions then by browser (lynx). If ad companies cannot serve ads without JavaScript, am I liable for blocking them?

    --
    cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:42AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 23 2016, @01:42AM (#378877)

    You'd probably get flagged and investigated in China. One would hope that a browser choice couldn't land you in trouble, but hey we'll find out! Or not, depends how good they are at silencing dissent...

  • (Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Saturday July 23 2016, @02:59AM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Saturday July 23 2016, @02:59AM (#378894)

    yeah, mr. DEC guy, my vaxstation runs such an old version of mosaic, I just don't see ads anymore.

    I'm all set. sounds like you are, too.

    lol

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday July 23 2016, @04:15AM

    by Reziac (2489) on Saturday July 23 2016, @04:15AM (#378916) Homepage

    Same here. No adblocker, but I use NoScript and HOSTS, and the effect is much the same.

    But now I'm wondering if there's a way to make websites think JS is active when it's not.

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.