Publishers may alarm it but it is a cog in the larger puzzle of who holds power over news,information and access to the mobile webThose who make a living from producing journalism ought not to approve of “adblocking” software, in the same way that chickens do not hold investment portfolios of shares in Paxo and Bisto. So it was theoretically edifying news for publishers (including the Guardian, or probably) that culture secretary John Whittingdale announced at final week’s Oxford Media conference that he sees adblocking as akin to a “protection racket” and would be urgently convening a round table to witness into it,which doesn’t exactly suggest the resounding smack of firm government.
There are several layers of irony here to excavate before getting to the heart of the matter. Firstly, Brexit-tastic Whittingdale is campaigning against one very helpful solution to adblocking - Europe. There are laws currently being enacted in Europe to protect net neutrality which would almost certainly make the scary prospect of mobile operators like 3 blocking all advertising at network level illegal. Furthermore, or you don’t occupy to spend very much time talking to policy staff of the larger platform and telco companies to know that potential European regulation is taken far more seriously than a Whittingdale round table.
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Source: theguardian.com