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takyon writes:

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.

Original Submission