UK minister compares adblocking to piracy, promises action

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Every time I start having a little bit of sympathy for ad-supported websites, something like this happens, and I’m like “fuck it, clearly no one cares about what I want to do with my time.”

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Great. A politico gets involved.

This will surely improve the situation.

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adblocking itself, which many users opt into for perfectly legitimate
reasons: saving mobile battery life, blocking drive-by malware,
improving the reading experience, and preventing privacy invasions in
cross-site tracking.

Is “I choose not to view advertising” not also a legitimate reason?

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As usual, not a fucking word about those of us whose data gets captured and used, about our privacy, and subjected to ad after ad after ad after ad after ad after ad …

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If adblocking is piracy, then what does that make antivirus? Genocide?

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ad serving sucks anyway.

Months ago I bought snow chains for an ATV after a diligent & purposeful hunt for same. To this day I’m served ads for ATV snow chains…TRY AGAIN IN 5-10 YEARS, adiots!

The other day the drain pump on our front-load washing machine gave out, it’s many years old but I ain’t about throwing stuff out & enjoy repairs. So a similar hunt ensued resulting int he purchase of the appropriate pump.

Now what do I see? Ads for ATV snow chains and OEM drain pumps… ADIOTS!!!11

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I would like to remind the good Mr. Whittingdale that we call the browser the “user agent” for a reason, specifically because that’s who it is supposed to serve.

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Next up: making it a crime to go to the bathroom or make yourself a snack during a TV commercial break. “Viewer #6079, Smith, W! Remain seated and enjoy these messages from our sponsors, or face stiff criminal penalties!”

After all, TV shows are ad-supported. If you dare not watch the ads, then YOU ARE A PIRATZ!

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Man, he must HATE Lynx users and it’s been around longer than any Safari, I.E., Mozilla, or Chrome browser.

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Time to trot out that great quote from Jamie Kellner of Fox and WB, 14 years ago:

Because of the ad skips… It’s theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you’re going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn’t get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you’re actually stealing the programming… I guess there’s a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom.

Same shit, different decade.

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You reveal a new mandated market for adult diapers and surplus military rations!

The ads for these items will be glorious works of the highest art. Your contribution is noted.

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Apart from the usual car crash when a Tory opines on something to do with technology or computing, he’s a council member of the libertarian Freedom Association that is supporting controls on how I access information on devices I own.

So the question must be how much does Murdoch want this?

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Libertarians not actually giving a fuck about personal liberty? Say it ain’t so!

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to set up a round table involving major publishers, social media groups and adblocking companies
but not any input from the public? i.e. the users.

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A conversation I find myself in often… do politicians really believe the shit their corporate masters are instructing them to say?
Do they know they are selling out their fellow humans and in turn is it difficult for them to sleep at night?
Or do they build a story of contempt for humanity and don’t care how the laws affect them?
Or are they simply psychopaths? Sell your vote to the highest bidder and sleep like a baby?

Speaking of psychopaths, before a politician runs for anything, could we first have their brains scanned for psychopathic markers? Seems pretty reasonable.

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You noticed that too, huh?

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And why, exactly, would an adblocking company wish to talk with a minister who has just compared them to pirates?

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So they could make him walk the plank?

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