By Jack Marshall
Online publishers and media companies are trying to discern the
potential impact on their businesses if Alphabet Inc.'s Google
proceeds with a plan to introduce an ad-blocking feature in its
popular Chrome web browser that would filter out certain types of
unacceptable ads.
On the one hand, such a feature could help weed out the types of
irritating ads that drive consumers to avoid online advertising in
the first place, they say.
But on the other, it could give more power to an entity that
already controls much of the advertising on the internet, and
against which they compete for advertising revenue.
As The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, Google is
considering launching an advertising filter in the mobile and
desktop versions of Chrome, which would strip out certain online
ads deemed to provide bad experiences for users, people familiar
with Google's plans said.
Google has declined to comment on any ad-blocking plans.
Unacceptable ad types would likely be those identified by the ad
industry group the Coalition for Better Ads, the people said. The
ad-blocking feature could be switched on by default within
Chrome.
Such a move could have repercussions for ad-supported websites
and services, advertising technology companies, and advertisers
themselves, depending on if and how it is implemented.
Industry observers and executives took to social media Thursday
morning to debate Google's potential motives and the effect such a
feature could have on media industry dynamics more widely.
Some publishing executives say they are reluctant to jump to
conclusions and are eagerly awaiting information from Google
regarding its plans. The move could have upside and downside, they
say.
"If this is something that takes concrete steps to clean up the
most offensive stuff on the internet, then I think that's very good
news for us," said Neil Vogel, chief executive at IAC's About.com
Group. "People install ad blockers because low-end publishers
violate their trust. If Google can stop egregious ads that make
people want to block ads in the first place, that will be a good
thing."
But that doesn't mean a Google intervention doesn't raise
concerns. In addition to producing web browsers, Google also
operates a mammoth online ad business complete with its own set of
interests.
"The risk here is this could concentrate a lot of power in the
hands of one organization that is not neutral and has vested
interests in all sides of this," Mr. Vogel said.
Indeed, publishers are often reluctant to speak their minds
about Google publicly because of the power they already feel the ad
giant has over them. Many publishers rely on Google to drive
traffic to their sites and to help them sell advertising.
"From the beginning we have avoided the kinds of ads cited as
the target of the Chrome ad-blocker concept -- pop-ups, pre-roll
ads etc.... It's clear there are a lot of very onerous experiences
out there that have led to the understandable rise of ad-blocking,"
said Jay Lauf, president and publisher of online news site Quartz,
in an emailed statement.
"We can't comment on Google's approach given what has been
revealed thus far, but I think a more surgical approach is needed
-- deploying a sledgehammer approach to the ad ecosystem could have
harmful implications," Mr. Lauf added.
Jason Kint, CEO of online publishing trade body Digital Content
Next, said his group is committed to the Coalition for Better Ads
as the forum for addressing consumer concerns around online ad
experiences, and said Google's potential ad filters appear to focus
on enforcing those standards.
But until details emerge regarding exactly if and how Google
might implement its ad filter, Mr. Kint said he, too, is reserving
judgment.
"The world of ad blocking is as murky as they come. Friends and
enemies can easily be confused, good and evil often mistaken and
interests aren't always as they appear," he said.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade group that says it
empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the
digital economy, has been extremely outspoken about companies that
offer ad-blocking technologies and attempt to profit from them.
"Ad blocking is a war against diversity and freedom of
expression," IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg famously said during a
keynote address at the IAB's annual leadership meeting a year
ago.
The IAB declined to comment on Google's potential ad-filter in
Chrome, referring questions instead to the Coalition for Better
Ads, of which the IAB is a member.
A spokesman for the Coalition for Better Ads declined to comment
on Google's potential plans specifically, but said, "We are working
with multiple technology companies for support in implementing
these standards."
Google is a member of both the IAB and the Coalition for Better
Ads, alongside companies such as Facebook, AppNexus and other
online publishers and advertising technology companies.
Write to Jack Marshall at Jack.Marshall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2017 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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