Data Security

How Ad Blocking, Once a Preference, Found a Tailwind in Privacy

As the open web has evolved, so has the industry policing its ads

Ad-blocking software providers have benefitted from the growing concern over digital privacy, leaving publishers and marketers to reckon with a shifting power dynamic.

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In the first decade of the open web, ad-blocking software gained in popular adoption by promising people a more pleasant experience on the internet, filtering publishers’ intrusive ads and gaining the enmity of the advertising industry in the process.

But in the last three years, the controversial technology has benefited from a boost in adoption prompted by another industry gadfly—the growing consumer concern over digital privacy.

Legislative initiatives across the European Union, as well as burgeoning efforts in the U.S.,