This Company’s Ad-Blocking Software Could Threaten Free Internet

[After Apple launched] its new software update for the iPhone, users [are offered] the chance to surf the mobile Web without annoying ads cluttering up their screen.

But Apple’s support for ad-blocking technology is ringing alarm bells on Madison Avenue, where critics warn it threatens not only the lifeblood of their business — but also the economic underpinnings of the free Internet.

“We don’t think ad blocking is right,” Scott Cunningham, senior vice president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, told The Post.

The rise of ad blockers is one of the biggest sea changes to affect the Internet ad business in decades, Cunningham said. For years, publishers have made what they believe is a fair trade-off with readers.

“Advertising is the economic engine that drives the free Internet,” Cunningham said. “The reality is the last 20 years have seen people developing content online for distribution, and consumers have opted in for that free content.” (Read more from “This Company’s Ad-Blocking Software Could Threaten Free Internet” HERE)

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