Wondering if Adblock Plus is legal? A German regional court answered with an emphatic yes

By Williams Pelegrin April 22, 2015

adblock plus legal to use german court 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Millions of people use Adblock Plus, a browser extension that blocks website advertisements. Even though it would seem like a perfectly legitimate service, its legality was challenged in a four-month trial in Germany, one that the makers of the extension won, according to their blog.

The case was brought into court by Zeit Online GmbH and Handelsblatt GmbH, which operate three websites. According to the plaintiffs, Eyeo GmbH, the company that administers Adblock Plus, should not be allowed to block ads on their websites. Ultimately, the judge sided with the defendant, allowing it to continue to administer Adblock Plus in Hamburg, Germany.

Recommended Videos

“We are extremely happy with the decision reached today by the Hamburg regional court,” said Eyeo in a statement to VentureBeat. “This is a victory for every single Internet user because it confirms each individual’s right to block annoying ads, protect their privacy, and, by extension, determine his or her own Internet experience. It is living proof of the unalienable right of every user to enjoy online self-determination.”

Along with blocking ads, Adblock Plus also blocks possible malware you might encounter in different websites and through third-party tracking.

This ruling is certainly good news for Eyeo and Adblock Plus, and sets a precedent for other similar court cases that may arise in the future. Because the ruling was made in a regional court, however, it will not constitute binding precedent on other courts, though they will likely examine its reasoning. Also, it’s unlikely to quell the common complaint that, since these ads bring in revenue for a large swath of websites, Adblock Plus basically costs websites revenue.

Google’s preferred method of addressing this issue is through its Contributor program, which invites you to pay a certain amount of money each month in order to see fewer ads. The number of ads you see, or don’t see, is proportionate to the amount you pay each month. You can even replace the blocked ads with images of your choosing, so instead of seeing an ad for Subaru, you might see an image of a cat that you uploaded.

This solution still allows websites to receive ad revenue while also blocking a good number of ads for you. We’ll see if users prefer Google’s solution or Adblock’s.

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.