Latest news with #adblocking
The Verge
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Verge
News publishers take paywall-blocker 12ft.io offline
The News/Media Alliance, a trade association behind major news publishers, announced that it has 'successfully secured' the removal of a website that helped users bypass paywalls online. The trade association says webhost took down the site on July 14th 'following the News/Media Alliance's efforts.' — or 12 Foot Ladder — also allowed users to view webpages without ads, trackers, or pop-ups by disguising a user's browser as a web crawler, giving them unfettered access to a webpage's contents. Software engineer Thomas Millar says he created the site when he realized '8 of the top 10 links on Google were paywalled' when doing research during the pandemic. Over the past decade, the online publishing business model has become increasingly unstable. For many years, websites gave readers free access because they were supported by advertising revenue, which is dependent on pageviews. But as traffic has fluctuated, in large part due to changes to Google's Search algorithm and an increasing shift toward AI search, many magazines, including The Verge, have diversified their business to become more dependent on subscriptions and paywalls to support themselves. The attempts for publishers to become more sustainable have also led to an internet that is less open and accessible — a complaint that Millar's project is responding to. Still, in an ironic twist, Millar began asking users to pay for a subscription to to help cover the cost of the tool in 2022. 'I'm making it my mission to clean the web,' Millar said at the time. In its announcement, News/Media Alliance says 'offered illegal circumvention technology' that allowed users to access copyrighted content without paying for it. The organization adds that it will take 'similar actions' against other sites that let users get around paywalls. The News Media Alliance recently called Google's AI Mode 'theft.' (Like many chatbots, Google's AI Mode eliminates the need to visit a website, starving publishers of the pageviews they need to be compensated for their work.) 'Publishers commit significant resources to creating the best and most informative content for consumers, and illegal tools like undermine their ability to financially support that work through subscriptions and ad revenue,' News/Media Alliance president and CEO Danielle Coffey said in the press release. 'Taking down paywall bypassers is an essential part of ensuring we have a healthy and sustainable information ecosystem.' Disclosure: The Verge's parent company, Vox Media, is a member of the News/Media Alliance.
Entrepreneur
18-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Take Your Time Back With This Multi-Tasking Ad Blocker, Now $15 for Life
This AdGuard Family Plan lets you protect up to nine devices. Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. TL;DR: The AdGuard Family Plan helps you browse online with no distractions, and now it's only $15.97 (reg. $169.99) with code FAMPLAN through June 1. The average person sees around 10,000 ads a day, according to data from Think of how much time you could free up by blocking them all? Entrepreneurs need every spare second they can get, and AdGuard is here to save the day and prevent all those ads from distracting you every day. Get all those seconds back with a lifetime subscription to AdGuard Family Plan, now just $15.97 (reg. $169.99) with code FAMPLAN through June 1. Ditch the ad distractions for good with this lifetime subscription to AdGuard You don't have time for distractions. Let AdGuard's ad-blocking module provide peaceful internet browsing, without any pop-ups, banners, or video ads, so you can get your work done. Entrepreneurs often work with sensitive data, so you can also appreciate that AdGuard doubles as a security guard. It can protect your data privacy, keeping your personal info hidden from trackers and activity analyzers. It also defends you against malware and phishing websites, which could be disastrous for your business. If you have children in the house, you can also take advantage of AdGuard's parental control features. It helps ensure your children avoid inappropriate content on the internet. This lifetime subscription to AdGuard's Family Plan provides ad blocking, security, and parental controls for up to nine devices. It's compatible with Android and iOS operating systems so that you can safeguard tablets, laptops, and smartphones. Protect nine devices with this AdGuard Family Plan, now just $15.97 (reg. $169.99) with code FAMPLAN through June 1. StackSocial prices subject to change.
