14 DAY TRIAL // That built-in Chrome ad blocker that Google was talking about a couple of months back will be introduced to the browser early next year. Google is reportedly already making it clear to publishers that their ads may very well get blocked if they don't abide by the rules.
It may seem a bit odd that Google, a company that makes the biggest chunk of its money from advertising, is planning to introduce its own ad blocker into Chrome, but that's exactly what the company plans to do, even if that means some of its own ads will get thrown out the door.
The company has issued a warning to website admins, telling them they should start assessing their ads and take out any that are particularly disruptive, the Wall Street Journal reports. While Chrome's ad blocker won't block off all ads, it will make sure it kills off all those that are annoying.
After all, it's not text-based ads on the side of the page that annoy us, but rather those full-page "I'll cover the entire article while you're reading" type of ads that we'd all love to go see gone.
Team-work
What Google is planning to do, however, is more of a filter than a blocker. Therefore, it will allow ads to be displayed on pages, but only if they meet certain requirements. What's even better about it is that it will work on both desktop and mobile.
Unacceptable ads are being determined by the Coalition for Better Ads, a group that includes Google, Facebook, News Corp, and the Washington Post.
This is a rather controversial move because these companies will get to define the way the web looks. On the other hand, it's a beneficial move for Internet users.
Sites may find this move annoying, though, because most of them stay afloat only thanks to ads; that's just how it works. Google's interference in the matter will clean up these sites of some valuable ad space. In the end, however, the ad industry will just have to adjust, especially since millions of users already use third-party ad-blocking tools. At the very least, with Google's new tools in place, some ads will still pass the blockade.