Last week, Google Chrome introduced a browser update that
will ban particularly intrusive ads, such as screen-dominating or
automatic-playing ads. At first glance, the update seems to benefit consumers
and improve the web browsing experience by filtering out annoying ad
placements. Google and the Chrome browser have a history of continuous user
experience upgrades and display ads play a central role in these improvements.
Take for example Google’s homepage, it is impressively clean and simple with
only a Google doodle and search bar. Google’s search results pages are also
relatively clean with only two sections of display search ads at the header and
right sidebar. This tradition supports Google’s intention that the ad-blocking
update is focused on better user experience.
Additionally, ad-blocking software and plug-ins, like
AdBlock Plus, have grown in response to consumer demand to eliminate irksome
ads. Therefore outside of Google Chrome, there are wider market trends to
improve the web browsing experience. Chrome’s update could be seen as a
complementary response to this trend.
However, Google gained its dominance in search (74% market
share in 2017) and Chrome in web browsing (59% market share in 2017) not be
benevolent actions, but through capitalistic business decisions. Underlying
this Chrome update is Google’s attempt to further control the ecosystem and
maintains its dominance in digital advertising. This update preempts more
comprehensive ad-blocking plug-ins and will allow Google to profit from
high-quality advertising into the future.
Furthermore, the standard for ads is based on
recommendations set forth by the Coalition
for Better Ads. This consortium is made up of corporations like Google and
Facebook and lacks a true consumer perspective.
While we are quick to applaud the elimination of annoying
ads, we should remain wary of the true intentions of Google Chrome’s update and
the continued dominance of Google in search and browser and their ability to
shape the ecosystem of web browsing advertising, not to mention the privacy
concerns.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/business/media/google-chrome-ad-block.html
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