Adblocking
BA-207-20610 – Introduction to E-Commerce
In 2015, Darius Kazemi created an app called Ethical Adblock. Ethical Adblock blocks websites that need ad revenue. Some websites have free content. To compensate for their free content, these websites host ads. The data from these ads are also sold to advertisement firms. The user is the product, which is then sold. Ethical Adblock removes the user from participating in being sold. This application differs from unethical AdBlock. The user cannot view a website with “free” content. Visitors may choose to disable ads and view website content. That creates a loss of revenue for ad-driven websites. Some websites depend on ad revenue to continue. Ethical Adblock disables the temptation of viewing website content for free.
Why do advertisers need websites for ads? They need to find new platforms to advertise. No longer are the days when a large audience views tv shows from 5 or 10 stations. News is not limited to three or four newspapers. Society is out of sync with everyone. Not only can people stream content at any time, but they can also find content from anywhere on the internet. To reach their customers, Advertisers use algorithmic advertising technology. This tech is important for advertisers to tailor their ads to different platforms. The ads can serve a broad audience without the need for a central location. And the data from the algorithms help shape the products that are sold.
I have a mixed view on Adblockers. I disable my adblockers for small businesses and local businesses. It is important for a thriving economy that there are more local entrepreneurs. The local business or individual pay more in taxes percentagewise than corporations. Leeching free content by using Adblockers is stealing from my neighbors. Individuals and local businesses do not have the advertisement budget like big businesses. I will turn it off for those websites. I do not have the same compassion for corporations. It is true that corporations create more jobs. Corporations pay less in local property taxes and are a drain for a local economy. Furthermore, some corporations do not pay living wages. Thus, I do not feel they need help with their advertisement budget. They have already recovered lost revenue by paying less in local taxes and less in fair wages.
