Andre Yoskowitz
6 Jul 2013 17:44
According to multiple reports, Google has been paying the makers of Adblock Plus to not block their ads.
Adblock Plus is the most popular extension for both Chrome and Firefox, due to its ability to block banners, display ads and pop-ups during browsing.
The report claims that Google (and others) have been paying to be included on a "whitelist" that prevents blocking by the free browser extension.
Adblock Plus normally offers whitelisting for free to smaller websites under its Acceptable Ads whitelist, which states "unobtrusive ads should remain viewable as long as they aren't annoying."
In their FAQ, the company says "Managing this list requires significant effort on our side and this task cannot be completely taken over by volunteers. That's why we are being paid by some larger properties that serve nonintrusive advertisements."