New Google Ad Filter Frightens Some Publishers and Ad Tech Players, States Ad Age

Google’s plan for an ad-blocking browser is worrying some publishers and ad executives who consider the internet giant too powerful as it is, states Ad Age, which added:

“Google dominates digital ad sales, ad delivery, search and publishing technology. It now will exert the power to interfere with websites’ ad revenue through its popular Chrome web browser.

“Google on Thursday acknowledged that it plans to build an ad “filter” into Chrome that prevents pages from showing ad formats deemed too intrusive by the industry’s Coalition for Better Ads.

“”Google is too powerful, which is why they can do this sort of thing and not have a great deal of pushback,” said one agency executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Google’s blocker, or filter, will actually hurt the myriad of smaller publishers.”

“Google, with the help of the ads group, is trying to curb annoying ad formats, like ones that pop up and take over screens. But many websites use those formats, annoying or not, to pay for their content.”