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posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 12 2015, @05:26PM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-what-I-wanted-to-hear dept.

Ads have long been part of the trade-off for users of the free Web, but the rise of ad blockers is making it increasingly difficult for publishers to sustain that ad-supported model.

That's according to a report published Monday by Adobe Systems and PageFair, a startup focused on assessing the cost of ad blocking and proposing alternatives.

While PageFair clearly has a vested interest in illustrating the negative effects of ad blocking, the findings of its study with Adobe are difficult to ignore. Most notably, ad blocking will cost publishers nearly $22 billion this year, it reported.

Ad blocking has grown by 41% globally in the last 12 months, the report found, amounting now to about 198 million active ad-block users around the world.

There were some interesting geographical differences highlighted in the report, too. For instance, in the U.S., ad blocking grew by 48% over the preceding 12 months to reach 45 million active users by June. In the U.K., ad blocking grew by 82% to reach 12 million active users over that same time frame.

Meanwhile, those numbers will surely be on the rise on the mobile side, Adobe noted in a blog post, given that Apple's iOS 9 will likely include ad-blocking features in Safari by default while Adblock Plus is already available in limited beta for Android.

Ad blocking represents "a major, growing problem for both digital publishers and marketers," said Greg Sterling, vice president for strategy and insights with the Local Search Association.

In many ways, the ad-blocking phenomenon is a response to security and privacy fears that have arisen in the culture at large and a rejection of the state of advertising on the PC internet, Sterling said.


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  • (Score: 2) by Tramii on Thursday August 13 2015, @03:39PM

    by Tramii (920) on Thursday August 13 2015, @03:39PM (#222352)

    Every manufacturer of alcohops insists that if I want to drink the vodka, I must also drink the lemonade and the artificial fruit flavourings. *AND THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS*.

    LOL

    Every big-name manufacturer of mobile phones insists that if I want to use the hardware, I must use their packaged OS. *AND THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS*.

    Oh, so using CyanogenMod is illegal now? When did this happen?

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 2) by Nollij on Thursday August 13 2015, @11:41PM

    by Nollij (4559) on Thursday August 13 2015, @11:41PM (#222582)

    January 28, 2013 [eff.org]
    (Yes, it's more complicated than that, but it's still a factor)

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday August 17 2015, @11:01AM

      by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Monday August 17 2015, @11:01AM (#223857) Homepage
      Thanks for the link, I'm surprised they're able to put any positive spin on the situation at all. My view on the matter is alas completely invalid, as I think that the DMCA is an illegal law, as it directly removes freedoms which have been proved in a court of law to be inviolable.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday August 17 2015, @10:47AM

    by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Monday August 17 2015, @10:47AM (#223854) Homepage
    Why have you introduced the question of legality? You may understand my point better if you do not make up bits of it which aren't there.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves