Report: Google Plans Ad Blocking in Chrome

[tangor]

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is planning to introduce an ad-blocking feature in the mobile and desktop versions of its popular Chrome web browser, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

The ad-blocking feature, which could be switched on by default within Chrome, would filter out certain online ad types deemed to provide bad experiences for users as they move around the web.

[wsj.com...]
If you can't beat 'em join 'em ... and control the outcome if possible.

[EditorialGuy]

Giving this much power to one or a bunch of corporations is asking for trouble.

Would you rather see the advertising industry set best practices and standards, or would you prefer to have users driven into the arms of corporations that sell ad-blocking software?

[tangor]

Print, radio, tv all had their advertising reforms. It makes sense that digital will soon follow. It is how that reform is done which should be watched closely. I'm for an industry standard i n digital advertising. I'm also for relevant third party oversight of any emergent standard.

There are good reasons for g to use its chrome platform as part of the process, also makes sense for g to be involved in establishing clear standards, but we, the publishers, users, and denizens of Earth need to remember the adage of turning over security of the chicken house to the coyote.

[nonstop]

Would you rather see the advertising industry set best practices and standards, or would you prefer to have users driven into the arms of corporations that sell ad-blocking software?

I'd rather see an independent body set the best practices and standards

I read through the white papers..

On Mechanical Turk, workers sign in to the tool to see a list of tasks they can choose to
complete along with the title of each task, the amount of money that each task pays, and an
estimate of the time that each task requires. We paid workers $1.51 for the single-ad study, and
$4.32 for the multi-ad study.

Google and friends were the employers and the researchers.

Amazon's Mechanical Turk is not lab conditions

we have no idea if the participants were paying attention
if the participants understood the questions
if the participant was the named person on the account
if the participant was under the influence of drugs / alcohol
if the participants were from the country they said they were from
if the participants cared and just wanted the money
if the participants has been outsourced to someone in India
if it was the participants 10 year old son answering the questions
and so many other issues / variables

[EditorialGuy]

There seems to be a misunderstanding about the nature of the Coalition for Better Ads. A look at the organization's members and affiliates might be helpful:

[betterads.org...]

In addition to major names from the media world (Facebook, Google, Washington Post, Thomson Reuters, etc.), the Coalition's members and affiliates include the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Internet Advertising Bureau's operations in a bunch of countries, and a whole slew of advertiser associations from around the world. The Coalition for Better Ads is a pretty big tent.

[nonstop]

@EditorialGuy

this has already been published in an earlier message...

but can you tell me...

What the 26 Full members do?

How much involvement do the affiliate members have?

Do the affiliate members have any power over how the Coalition for Better Ads operates?

Can you see the minutes of the meetings?

Who sets the agenda?

Do the members vote on any issues?

Who designs the 'research' methodology?

How is the Coalition funded?

Is there a president?

Are they elected?

All this isn't on their website. I wonder why not?


Just because there are 26 full members and a number of 'affiliate' members doesn't mean the organization is legitimate.

[EditorialGuy]

@nonstop, you can learn quite a bit through a quick online search, such as the organization's research methodology, which involves a panel of 25,000 paid participants:

[adage.com...]

As for your laundry list of questions, why don't you address them to the Coalition for Better Ads? I'm not their spokesperson, and I have no interest in doing legwork on your behalf.

[nonstop]

@EditorialGuy

you were the one defending them :)

the article doesn't tell me anything about the methodology other than what was in the white paper.

[EditorialGuy]

Well, the information on methodology is good enough for me: It shows that the standards are driven by consumer preference. That certainly can't be said of pop-up ads, prestitials, autoplaying video ads, and other types of ads that consumers love to hate.

[nonstop]

you think using Mechanical Turk is acceptable way of conducting scientific research?

wow

[ember]

Giving this much power to one or a bunch of corporations is asking for trouble.

Welcome to America.

[engine]

Moving back onto topic, the IAB have spoken up about the Coalition of Better Ads and denies there's an ad blocker. That may not satisfy many, but, it's clear that there need to be standards, and there needs to be better management and control.
It's clear that Google is criticised, primarily because of its dominant position, but they are not alone. The other 800lb gorilla is facebook, and involved in the organisation.

"There is no ad-blocker that's going into a browser," Randall Rothenberg, head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau trade group, said, although he wouldn't offer further details on the tool. "What we want is something that's industry-wide, that can demonstrably improve user experience and that's embraced by pretty much everyone." link [bloomberg.com]

"Google alone cannot solve for the incentives users have to install ad blockers," a company spokeswoman said. "We need an industry approach that is data-driven and endorsed by everyone."

Until we see exactly what evolves from this we won't really be able to fully judge whether it's meeting the needs of consumers or advertisers. It sure would have been easier if the organisation was run independently, with associate membership of the main players.

The competition authorities will soon be onto Google if it shows the slightest bias for its own ads via Chrome, and it could turn out to be very costly for the company.

Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, wrote on Twitter that she would "follow this new feature" closely. She is already overseeing a multi-pronged antitrust case against Google.

[EditorialGuy]

The competition authorities will soon be onto Google if it shows the slightest bias for its own ads via Chrome

Unfortunately, the European Commission has a history of favoring corporate competitors over consumers, and Google doesn't need to display bias (or engage in bias) to be accused of bias: For example, it would be easy enough for competitors who engaged in anti-consumer ad practices to accuse Google of favoring its own ads simply because Google doesn't serve up the kinds of ads that consumers hate most. One can easily imagine the EC trying to suppress "better ads" standards in the name of competition, regardless of the impact on consumers.

[engine]

>Unfortunately, the European Commission has a history of favoring corporate competitors over consumers

I'm not sure you're quite correct there, imho, and I think you'll find the tide has changed in Europe.
The EU's biggest problem is it's too slow, and the agile commercial businesses can make changes to appease and delay.

Just look at how long it took for the EU to deal with Microsoft.
[en.wikipedia.org...]

Back on topic...
The other problem here is that Chrome has become the dominant browser, and that will also have to be taken into account.

[ember]

Google is going to give us six months to get ready for this.

[cnbc.com ]

[engine]

Thanks ember.

Here's Google's statement indicating that it will come into effect in 2018. [blog.google...]

In dialogue with the Coalition and other industry groups, we plan to have Chrome stop showing ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018.

If you want to check your site to see if it meets the standards of the Better Ads Standards, there's a test you can run, here [google.com...]

I really don't believe that AdSense Publishers have to be too concerned as Google would not permit its ads to break the rules. Other advertisers, otoh, that stuff sites with annoying ads will have to shape up. That's not a bad thing, imho.

[ergophobe]

And it turns out they will have a bit of a pay to play scheme set up....
[adage.com...]