For anyone who’s used the internet long enough, you might recall a certain browser extension called Adblock Plus, which back in the day would block ads from showing up on websites, YouTube, and so on. However in recent times, the company has opened itself up to ads which they believe are “acceptable” and have whitelisted them.
If that wasn’t a precursor to today’s announcement, we don’t know what is because Adblock Plus has announced that they will be launching their own ads platform (via Engadget). Yup, the company that was pretty much anti-ads is now going to be serving you ads. However the distinction is that for users with its extension installed, Adblock Plus will serve up ads that they deem are “acceptable”, while those without the extension will continue to see ads.
To their credit, the company has set out some criterias that they deem are “acceptable ads”, which are basically non-invasive and aren’t meant to disrupt the use of the website. According to Till Faida, co-founder of Adblock Plus, “The Acceptable Ads Platform helps publishers who want to show an alternative, nonintrusive ad experience to users with ad blockers by providing them with a tool that lets them implement Acceptable Ads themselves.”
That being said, Adblock Plus won’t be losing its functionality entirely. The company will still continue to block ads that they believe aren’t “acceptable” or served by its platform, so for now and until more companies get on board with the program, we guess it’s business as usual.