Google’s Chrome browser keeps causing annoyance when it comes to blocking advertising. So now again, as fierce criticism came up for the plan to lock out some third-party ad blockers via a change to the browser API. The extensions would have completely disappeared and would remain integrated in Chrome ad blocker and some little-selected plugins, in which Google even partially participates. Now, the Chrome team is rowing back and announcing that they’re revising the planned changes.
Not everyone was enthusiastic when the Google Chrome API was recently announced to receive some new specifications. In the guise of security, it should not be possible for extensions in the future to intercept content before rendering in the browser – and to change it. At first glance, what seems good at first glance is a major limitation, because that is exactly what advertising blockers work for. These would therefore have the future in the most-used browser.
No wonder the criticism that struck Chrome developers was huge. There they also reacted and announced that the planned changes would not take place in this way. In the search for a compromise, they have now decided that there will still be restrictions on changing content in the future, but they want to accommodate the providers of ad blockers and supplement rules that they can continue to work with. However, one also acknowledges immediately that the new specifications are still in the early stages of development. So it is still possible for the developers of plugins to influence them in the form of feedback. In addition, no change is really final and there will still be some testing and changes needed until the Chrome team is satisfied. So it can still move a lot.
For those who make money with advertising, the whole discussion is interesting, but also critical to see. Of course, it is not good if more and more ad blockers court the favor of the users and thus spark more attention for the technology. On the other hand, it would certainly not be correct to allow Google a quasi-monopoly position here.
