Facebook has issued a “fix” to the workaround launched by prominent ad block maker, Adblock Plus. Recall that Facebook announced Tuesday it will basically force-feed users with ads, even if they have ad blocking software installed on their desktops.
Recall also, that for Facebook, this is mainly about company’s lucrative advertising revenue – $6.24 billion Q2.
According to Facebook, it will keep circumventing attempts to use ad blocking software with the aim of showing more ads in the News Feed of users.
The company acknowledged that users found ads “annoying” and “disruptive,” but will still show them ads, anyway.
Facebook did say it will allow users adjust their News Feeds to reflect their personal preferences regarding the types of ads they want to see.
Proponents of ad blocking did not take kindly to this and released a workaround. Now, Facebook has started rolling out code to nullify Ad Block Plus’ workaround.
On one hand you have Facebook, with its elite IT staff, on the other hand, you have the formidable open source community with elite hackers and a wider pool of talent than Facebook.
For now, Facebook has the advantage because it can institute any change on its platform with one simple click, while any crowdsourced solution will take longer to implement.
One thing is certain – this battle is far from over.
