Begun, the iOS 9 ad blockers legal wars has.
Germany’s Axel Springer, a company which owns major newspapers like Bild and Die Welt, is trying to sue the developers behind Blockr, an ad blocker for iOS 9.
The move comes through Axel Springer sub-company WeltN24, which aims to stop development of Blockr, as well as its distribution. The problem is that Blockr strips ads from the desktop and mobile views of Die Welt, and many other sites, which is exactly as intended.
However, Axel Springer’s lawsuit isn’t going uncontested. In a hearing last week, Blockr argued that their software is legal. The court tentatively agreed, and argued that Axel Springer can always shut off access to its sites for people with Ad Blockers installed.
The case should be settled on December 10th.
Obviously, Cult of Mac would prefer you read us without ad blockers installed. Ads pay the bills here! That said, short of asking you politely to ad us to your whitelist, we’re not against ad blockers for intrusive sites, and we think the idea of actually suing ad blockers for doing what they’re supposed to do is silly.
It’ll be interesting to see if Apple gets involved here. After all, they pointedly allowed ad blockers to exist in iOS 9. Seems like only a matter of time before publishers try to sue them too.
Source: Techcrunch
