During an outbreak of common sense in a Hamburg, Germany, court it was ruled that.. no, advertisers don't get their own way every time.
Zeit Online GmbH and Handelsblatt GmbH as representatives of the advertising world filed suit against Eyeo GmbH (the owners of AdBlock Plus) claiming that the latter should not be allowed to distribute software (a browser plugin that blocks ads) that disrupts their income stream.
The court did not look favourably on the advertisers' case.
From an article in The Register :
Ben Williams, a director of Eyeo, wrote in a blog: "The Hamburg court decision is an important one, because it sets a precedent that may help us avoid additional lawsuits and expenses defending what we feel is an obvious consumer right: giving people the ability to control their own screens by letting them block annoying ads and protect their privacy."
This has ramifications for another simmering case in neighboring France.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday April 22 2015, @10:16PM
Using proper terms clarifies the relationships:
The product is the web site (or the TV channel), and more specifically the Ad slots.
The consumer is you and me
The customer is the advertiser.
The customer buys the product at the value set based on the consumer's exposure.
Now, some consumers can also be customers, if they pay a subscription of any kind. But unless you are talking about packaging their personal info to sell it directly to the highest bidder, the user is NOT the product.