Adblock Plus getting paid to let ads slip through

If you dislike ads and don't want to support the websites that you frequent, chances are that you're using an adblocker. One of the most popular ad blockers is Adblock Plus, but likely a lot of the plug-in's users don't know that the company receives money to whitelist certain ads. To be put on this "acceptable ads" list (which can still be turned off completely) advertisers have to follow certain rules, and pay Adblock Plus a certain fee. A list of Adblock Plus' strategic partners isn't available, but it appears Google is one of them.

Adblock Plus has an “acceptable ads” filter that allows certain content by default, and the company makes no secret that it charges big companies for whitelisting services – it mentions it right in its FAQ.

AdblockPlus says this fee is about helping it to maintain its filter list, which also whitelists some small websites and blogs for free, in addition to charging those larger companies like Google that participate. But it’s easy to see Google and others buying the right to put ads in front of web-browsing users, with Adblock Plus essentially acting as a gatekeeper meting out access to that sizeable chunk of consumers. Which gives Adblock a lot of power, and companies like Google that can pay a sizeable advantage over mid-sized competitors who can’t.

Source: TechCrunch