tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/ad-blocking-20685/articlesAd blocking – The Conversation2018-10-21T19:17:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1048422018-10-21T19:17:45Z2018-10-21T19:17:45ZSome cybersecurity apps could be worse for privacy than nothing at all<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241158/original/file-20181018-41135-1yx7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apple has removed several security tools from the Mac app store after they were found to be collecting unnecessary personal data.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s been a busy few weeks for cybersecurity researchers and reporters. There was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-hack-reveals-the-perils-of-using-a-single-account-to-log-in-to-other-services-104227">Facebook hack</a>, the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/8/17951914/google-plus-data-breach-exposed-user-profile-information-privacy-not-disclosed">Google plus data breach</a>, and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies">allegations</a> that the Chinese government implanted spying chips in hardware components. </p>
<p>In the midst of all this, some other important news was overlooked. In early September, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45482819">Apple removed several Trend Micro anti-malware</a> tools from the Mac app store after they were found to be collecting unnecessary personal information from users, such as browser history. Trend Micro has now removed this function from the apps.</p>
<p>It’s a good reminder that not all security apps will make your online movements more secure – and, in some cases, they could be worse than doing nothing at all. It’s wise to do your due diligence before you download that ad-blocker or VPN – read on for some tips.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/encrypted-smartphones-secure-your-identity-not-just-your-data-91715">Encrypted smartphones secure your identity, not just your data</a>
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<h2>Security apps</h2>
<p>There are range of tools people use to protect themselves from cyber threats:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Virtual private networks (VPNs)</strong> allow you to establish a secure connection with a remote server and route all your traffic through it so it can’t be tracked by your internet service provider. VPNs are commonly used to access geo-blocked content, and for additional privacy.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Ad-blockers</strong> prevent advertisements from appearing on the websites you visit.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>App-lockers</strong> allow you to set passwords for individual apps. For example, if somebody borrowed your phone to make a call, and then tried to access your Facebook app. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Tor</strong> hides your identity while you browse the internet, by encrypting and moving your traffic across multiple Tor nodes.</p></li>
</ul>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-more-vulnerabilities-are-discovered-is-it-time-to-uninstall-antivirus-software-61374">As more vulnerabilities are discovered. Is it time to uninstall antivirus software?</a>
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<h2>Know the risks</h2>
<p>There are multiple dangers in using these kinds of security software, especially without the proper background knowledge. The risks include:</p>
<h3>Accessing unnecessary data</h3>
<p>Many security tools request access to your personal information. In many cases, they need to do this to protect your device. For example, <a href="http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/avc_datasending_2014_en.pdf">antivirus software</a> requires information such as browser history, personal files, and unique identifiers to function. But in some cases, tools request more access than they need for functionality. This was the case with the <a href="https://blog.trendmicro.com/answers-to-your-questions-on-our-mac-apps-store/">Trend Micro apps</a>. </p>
<h3>Creating a false sense of security</h3>
<p>It makes sense that if you download a security app, you believe your online data is more secure. But sometimes mobile security tools don’t provide security at the expected levels, or don’t provide the claimed services at all. If you think you can install a state-of-the-art mobile malware detection tool and then take risks online, you are mistaken. </p>
<p>For example, a 2017 <a href="https://taesoo.kim/pubs/2017/jung:avpass-slides.pdf">study</a> showed it was not hard to create malware that can bypass 95% of commercial Android antivirus tools. Another <a href="https://research.csiro.au/ng/wp-content/uploads/sites/106/2016/08/paper-1.pdf">study</a> showed that 18% of mobile VPN apps did not encrypt user traffic at all. And if you are using Tor, there are many mistakes you can make that will compromise your anonymity and privacy – especially if you are not familiar with the Tor setup and <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/142380/htg-explains-is-tor-really-anonymous-and-secure/">try to modify its configurations</a>. </p>
<p>Lately, there have been reports of fake antivirus software, which <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/can-you-trust-your-mobile-antivirus-software-malicious-fake-protection-apps-flood-google-play-store/">open backdoors for spyware, ransomware and adware</a>, occupying the top spots on the app charts. Earlier this year it was reported that 20 million Google Chrome users had <a href="https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/adblocker-chrome-extention.html">downloaded fake ad-blocker extensions</a>.</p>
<h3>Software going rogue</h3>
<p>Numerous free – or paid – security software is available in app stores created by enthusiastic individual developers or small companies. While this software can provide handy features, they can be poorly maintained. More importantly, they can be hijacked or bought by attackers, and then used to harvest personal information or propagate malware. This mainly happens in the case of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2017/07/31/hackers-hijacked-a-chrome-extension-and-forced-ads-on-over-30000-users/#13fd147464e0">browser extensions</a>.</p>
<h2>Know what you’re giving away</h2>
<p>The table below shows what sort of personal data are being requested by the top-10 antivirus, app-locker and ad-blocking apps in the Android app store. As you can see, antivirus tools have access to almost all the data stored in the mobile phone. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/HIId8/4/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="545"></iframe>
<p>That doesn’t necessarily mean any of these apps are doing anything bad, but it’s worth noting just how much personal information we are entrusting to these apps without knowing much about them.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-malware-gets-inside-your-apps-79485">Explainer: how malware gets inside your apps</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>How to be safer</h2>
<p>Follow these pointers to do a better job of keeping your smart devices secure:</p>
<h3>Consider whether you need a security app</h3>
<p>If you stick to the official apps stores, install few apps, and browse only a routine set of websites, you probably <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/mobile-antivirus-not-needed-google-20140702-zsthl.html">don’t need extra security software</a>. Instead, simply stick to the security guidelines provided by the manufacturer, be diligent about updating your operating system, and don’t click links from untrusted sources. </p>
<h3>If you do, use antivirus software</h3>
<p>But before you select one, read product descriptions and online reviews. Stick to solutions from well-known vendors. Find out what it does, and most importantly what it doesn’t do. Then read the permissions it requests and see whether they make sense. Once installed, update the software as required. </p>
<h3>Be careful with other security tools</h3>
<p>Only install other security tools, such as ad-blockers, app-lockers and VPN clients, if it is absolutely necessary and you trust the developer. The returns from such software can be minimal when compared with the associated risks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104842/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suranga Seneviratne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Before you download antivirus and ad-blocker apps, do your due diligence on what personal information they want to access. Here are some tips on what to look out for.Suranga Seneviratne, Lecturer - Security, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/631522016-08-08T20:10:13Z2016-08-08T20:10:13ZAd skipping and blocking could spur an advertising arms race<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132247/original/image-20160727-21580-3q5s3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Promotional messages are everywhere.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much to the disappointment of advertisers and ad agencies, many people do not like advertising. Some will do anything to avoid advertisements, and increasingly they have the tools to do so.</p>
<p>Ad-blocking apps have now expanded to podcasting, with <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/podcasting-has-an-ad-skipping-problem-too-1468605850">apps that enable 15-second skips</a> to avoid spoken ads within podcasts.</p>
<p>But while some people may like the idea of being able to avoid all advertising, advertisers are still finding new ways to get brand names seen by the general public.</p>
<h2>It’s all about control</h2>
<p>Promotional messages are everywhere. Whether it is a traditional 30-second commercial on free-to-air TV, giant billboards, or brand names being mentioned in an overly positive way, they are all around us.</p>
<p>To some extent we’ve always had a degree of control over what we can see or hear in relation to advertising messages. When watching television or listening to the radio we channel surf, or mentally switch off during commercial breaks. Some choose to watch shows from only non-commercial broadcasters. While driving a car we may pay no attention to roadside billboards.</p>
<p>And not everyone hates advertising enough to actively avoid it. Many opt in to receive targeted marketing from companies they know. An entire industry is developing around data-based marketing – the key is control.</p>
<p>Having control gives someone the ability to determine how they interact with the marketing message and to influence the presentation and content. But in some media platforms there is a lack of control, which can be frustrating.</p>
<h2>Forced advertising</h2>
<p>YouTube, for example, often runs advertisements before you can watch the video you have clicked. Advertisers wanting to advertise on YouTube can bid for priority listings related to particular video searches. The ads appear when YouTube viewers arrive on particular video pages, and advertisers are charged on a cost-per-click basis.</p>
<p>YouTube has two main types of advertisements: unskippable ads, which are often 15-18 seconds long; and skippable ads, which give you the option of watching the ad for five seconds and choosing whether to skip or watch the ad in full. YouTube will only charge the advertiser if a viewer “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/">engages</a>” with the ad by watching for its duration, or clicking on the ad.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to keep control of your ad viewing if you still have to watch at least five seconds of an ad before you can skip it. And this has led to new ways to <a href="http://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/how-to-skip-ads-on-youtube/">skip ads on YouTube</a>.</p>
<p>As customers gain more control of their media environment, advertisers have to go to greater lengths to get their brand name seen, known and remembered. Here’s five other ways advertisers are engaging with those actively trying to avoid traditional advertising.</p>
<p><strong>1. Ambush marketing</strong></p>
<p>This is when marketing messages are presented at an event that is sponsored by an unrelated business or even a competitor. The aim is to grab attention away from the official sponsor and be newsworthy. Watch out for this during The Olympics, which is often a target for ambush marketers. Nike took this approach during the London Olympics.</p>
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<p><strong>2. Ambient advertising</strong></p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132231/original/image-20160727-21556-ej34lk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ambient advertising.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">oz dean/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>This is a form of out-of-home media that aims to get your attention by placing advertising or brand names in unexpected places or unusual ways. This can be on the street, in the park, on escalators, at train stations and buildings. It’s hard to get away from if it’s on your morning commute. </p>
<p><strong>3. Native advertising</strong> </p>
<p>In the new world of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/native-advertising">native advertising</a>, paid content “fits seamlessly into the natural experience of any <a href="https://theconversation.com/tired-of-pop-up-ads-the-native-alternative-could-be-worse-27499">platform</a>”. Content that appears as a story is actually a subtle (or not so subtle) advertisement with clear marketing messages. Native advertising is growing in use by media companies including Fairfax, News, BuzzFeed and The Guardian. This type of content is identified with terms including: “Sponsored Content”, “Sponsored”, “Sponsor Message”, “Promoted by”, “Paid Post”, or “Paid Content”.</p>
<p><strong>4. Product placement</strong> </p>
<p>This is the paid inclusion of products or brands in movies, television shows, video games, songs and books. The product is portrayed or mentioned in context as part of the story line of the show, usually in a positive way. And it’s popular in original series television on platforms like Netflix that do not carry traditional advertising. For example, there are tech brands galore paying to be in the Netflix drama House of Cards.</p>
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<p><strong>5. Sponsorship</strong></p>
<p>Organisations continue to pay to be associated with an event, exhibition, team or person. A sponsorship relationship can mean providing financial support in return for the right to display a brand name, logo or advertising on clothing, in the program, or around the field. Even if you want to get away from advertising in the media, by watching sport, or even going to an art gallery or museum, you can still see logos and advertising messages.</p>
<p>So no matter how much you try to avoid advertising messages, advertisers will still find ways to target you, whether you’re aware of it or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Waller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As customers gain more control of their media environment, advertisers have to go to greater lengths to get their brand name seen, known and remembered.David Waller, Senior Lecturer, School of Marketing, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/609002016-06-14T23:07:42Z2016-06-14T23:07:42ZSocial media is changing our digital news habits – but to varying degrees in US and UK<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126569/original/image-20160614-22386-90jsrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=279%2C468%2C2186%2C1458&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Same news, different medium?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25228175@N08/5127055942">Elvin</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital technology has dramatically reshaped the news and media industries in the past decade. We’ve left behind a world where established news brands could rely on reaching large audiences and hence secure advertising revenues. Now there is huge uncertainty about business models, even as digital gives consumers more convenient access to news than ever before. The emergence of new players, including BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post, coupled with the growth of social networking, the introduction of smartphones and the evolution of online advertising, have contributed to a media landscape that is changing at considerable speed.</p>
<p>We’ve been tracking the ways in which news habits online have been changing since 2012, when we launched our first survey from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Since then the Digital News Report (<a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">DNR</a>) has grown to become the largest international survey on digital news use in the world. But the aim remains the same – to understand the radical changes the news industry is undergoing from the perspective of users, and to track the ways these are developing in different countries. </p>
<p>Our latest research polled more than 50,000 news consumers in 26 nations and is summed up in our fifth Digital News Report. One caveat: since this is an online survey it will tend to underestimate the behavior of people who are not online. These nations include 20 within Europe, together with the U.S., Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Australia and Canada. They mostly benefit from high incomes, widespread internet adoption and share many linguistic and cultural characteristics. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, we found much variance in news habits and attitudes across the globe. Country to country, there were discernible differences in the willingness to pay for online news, as well as the popularity and trust placed in certain news outlets. We discovered major contrasts even among countries as seemingly similar as the U.S. and the U.K. Despite radical change, the impact of digital disruption is strongly influenced by each country’s media heritage.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126582/original/image-20160614-22416-1tihxb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Social networks’ growing role</h2>
<p>Data from comScore recently revealed that, in the U.S., <a href="https://www.themediabriefing.com/article/nine-trends-in-us-media-consumption-in-charts">social media accounts for 20% of total time spent online</a>. It follows that 46 percent of our DNR American sample named social media such as Facebook or Twitter as a source of news; that’s almost twice the number who did in 2013. In the U.K., this figure is slightly lower (35 percent). Meanwhile, 14 percent in the U.S. and 8 percent in the U.K. cite social media as their main source of news. </p>
<p>These trends are moving fastest among younger audiences. Globally, for all age groups under 45, online news is now ranked as more important than television news. Among 18-to-24-year-olds, social media (28 percent) rates above TV (24 percent).</p>
<p>Across the sample, Facebook is the leading social network for news and non-news consumption: 44 percent of all respondents used it for news in the week prior to the survey. YouTube (19 percent) and Twitter (10 percent) trail behind, highlighting why <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/06/01/facebook-algorithm-news-millennials/">discussions</a> about <a href="https://medium.com/@TowCenter/the-end-of-the-news-as-we-know-it-how-facebook-swallowed-journalism-60344fa50962">Facebook’s algorithms and news selection</a> are so important. Almost half of our sample get at least some of their news from the social media giant.</p>
<h2>From journalism to content</h2>
<p>The trend toward finding and consuming news through social networks rather than coming directly to their sites leaves many publishers grappling with what it all means for their business. In particular, they need to determine if they can work with these tech giants in a manner that enables them to get paid for their content and to access increasingly valuable data about users’ patterns of news consumption. </p>
<p>Some, such as The Washington Post, have gone “<a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/11/why-not-be-all-the-way-in-how-publishers-are-using-facebook-instant-articles/">all in</a>” with several Silicon Valley-led initiatives; for example, Facebook’s Instant Articles hosts publishers’ content within Facebook to increase the speed of access. Other publishers are adopting a more cautious approach. Either way, the battle for revenues, recognition and eyeballs is very real.</p>
<p>Only around half of U.S. news audiences – and just over a third in the U.K. – say they even notice the brand responsible for content they’re reading or viewing on social media or an aggregator such as Apple News, <a href="https://flipboard.com/">Flipboard</a> or <a href="https://www.smartnews.com/en/">SmartNews</a>.</p>
<h2>Starting the day with current affairs</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126584/original/image-20160614-22418-184jua1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>These online services are also reshaping our morning news routines. Few people now first access the news via a physical paper (a mere 6 percent in the U.S., 8 percent in the U.K.). Instead, online services are the first source of daily news for 39 percent of our sample in the U.S. – ahead of TV (at 36 percent) – and for 31 percent in the U.K. (where TV stands at 32 percent). No wonder legacy media that didn’t join the digital revolution are hurting or worse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126585/original/image-20160614-22383-13zzvvk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, the radio news habit remains strong in the U.K. Nearly a quarter of respondents (24 percent) get their first news of the day via that medium, compared to just 12 percent in the U.S. Countries such as France (30 percent) or Ireland (39 percent) show an even greater reliance on radio in the morning. This reflects different traditions and the fact that, in some countries, key radio news shows have a longstanding reputation and can still set the news agenda for the day. </p>
<p>Of those using a smartphone to access the news first thing in the morning, nearly half in the U.S. (48 percent) go to social media as their first source, compared to only one third (33 percent) in the U.K. U.K. smartphone users are more than twice as likely as their U.S. counterparts to use their smartphone first thing to go direct to a news website or news app (U.K. 48 percent versus U.S. 23 percent).</p>
<h2>Making it pay</h2>
<p>For most players, the economics of the news business is challenging. Audiences have gotten used to consuming online news for free. Turning the tanker around is no easy task.</p>
<p>Publishers’ digital advertising revenues have been hit by the <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2016-internet-trends-report/44">dominance of Google and Facebook</a> (76 percent of the increase in internet advertising monies in the U.S.), the growth in news consumption via smartphones and the rise of ad-blockers.</p>
<p>Ad-blocking tools prevent desktop and mobile audiences from seeing digital ads. This may be great for consumers at the moment, but if ads go unseen, publishers can’t charge for them. As a result, <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/06/08/the-new-york-times-is-preparing-to-step-up-its-war-on-ad-blockers/">some publishers are striking back</a>, refusing free access to content unless ad-blockers are turned off, or an exception is given to their site. Ad blockers are still relatively new, but the numbers of online news consumers using them in the U.S. (24 percent) and U.K. (21 percent) are already significant and likely to grow.</p>
<p>For publishers, apart from digital ads, other potential revenue sources – including subscriptions, one-off payments, memberships and sponsored content – remain fraught with difficulties. Less than half of respondents in the U.S. and the U.K. said they’re prepared to see sponsored content or <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/265789/consumers-cant-tell-native-ads-from-editorial-con.html">native advertising</a> on websites in exchange for free news.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/126613/original/image-20160614-22386-1wh6ks5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the U.S., people reporting having paid for online news – either via subscription or a one-off payment – fell from 11 percent to 9 percent last year. The proportion paying for online news in the U.K. (7 percent) is among the lowest in the world.</p>
<p>But these figures tell only half a story. In the U.K., the median payment – at £82 (about US$115) a year – is the highest in the world (with the U.S. in third place at £62 [about $90]). These numbers are driven by the success of subscription packages offered by some publishers. In these two countries, there remains an audience willing to pay significant amounts for high quality news online. It’s not a solution for every organization but can work where content is unique or of distinctly high quality that’s valued by consumers. </p>
<h2>Popularity and trust</h2>
<p>Even though business models and news habits are changing, large audiences still trust traditional news brands – such as the BBC and CNN – when they’re looking for in-depth content and analysis. These major brands are also where many people turn for breaking news.</p>
<p>In the U.S., offline news consumption in TV, radio and print remains dominated by traditional outlets such as local TV and Fox News. Online news comes from digital-born companies such as Yahoo!, alongside a strong presence from the websites of established TV news networks such as CNN, Fox News and local television stations. </p>
<p>In the U.K., just looking at performance online, long-established national news brands that built their reputations in print or broadcast are relatively much stronger. The BBC and mainstream TV news channels (ITV and Sky) lead, with the websites of national newspapers also enjoying some traction – and often far greater reach than in print. (More than three times as many of our respondents said they read The Guardian online last week as said they read it in print.) </p>
<p>That said, digital brands are growing in popularity. The Huffington Post is the second-most-consumed online news source in the U.S. and the third most popular in the U.K. Generally speaking, though, online-only services tend to be used as secondary sources or for softer news.</p>
<p>News remains as popular as ever. Distinctive journalism continues to be valued, even if audiences aren’t necessarily willing to pay for it. New brands are having an impact, but they’re not replacing older outlets just yet. Given our report’s findings, the question of how we pay for high-quality – yet costly – journalism has never been more urgent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Levy is a Non Executive member of the Content Board of Ofcom, the UK Communications Regulator. The Reuters Institute receives core funding from the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The Reuters Institute Digital News Report is supported by 12 different organisations including Google. The full list is available on the dedicated website <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org">www.digitalnewsreport.org</a> </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Radcliffe continues to work as a freelance journalist, consultant and trainer alongside his role at the University of Oregon.</span></em></p>Social networking, smartphones, ad blockers, oh my. A global survey of 50,000 news consumers assessed the ways we get our news in 2016.David Levy, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of OxfordDamian Radcliffe, Caroline S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/542442016-02-17T19:17:32Z2016-02-17T19:17:32ZHow online advertising can work in a world of ad blockers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111747/original/image-20160217-19269-v0f786.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ad blockers are here to stay so advertisers need to think differently to reach their target audience.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Aleksandar Karanov</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ask online advertisers what their biggest headache is today, and they will probably say <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/23090/ad-blocker">ad blockers</a>, which are browser extensions and add-ons that can remove adverts from websites.</p>
<p>The growth of ad blocking has been followed closely by Dublin-based <a href="https://pagefair.com/">PageFair</a>, a group looking to find a way for online advertising to survive. In its third <a href="http://downloads.pagefair.com/reports/2015_report-the_cost_of_ad_blocking.pdf">annual study</a>, published in August last year, it revealed that ad blockers are costing around US$22 billion a year in lost revenue.</p>
<p>With around 200 million active users and rising, the loss of revenue is already <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/news/adblocking-media-crisis-3-0">disrupting</a> the industry, with worse to come as more people get on board.</p>
<p>For many advertisers and publishers, the next 12 to 18 months will see a tipping point, as the gap between the cost of doing business and dwindling revenue widens.</p>
<h2>What users want</h2>
<p>The reality is that ad blockers are here to stay, and so is online advertising. The problem lies at both ends of the spectrum; those who want something for nothing and everything for free, and with those at the other end who push profit over propriety.</p>
<p>The problem is that people are becoming more digitally savvy, taking control of their online experience. They use ad blockers because they dislike having their online experience marred by objectionable content, or their personal details bought and sold. </p>
<p>Since much content on the web is only possible through advertising, the challenge is to find a way that works for everyone. </p>
<h2>How advertisers are responding</h2>
<p>Advertisers are countering ad blockers in various ways, such as cajoling the user to <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/54441/whitelist">white list</a> them so the adverts show up, erecting pay walls or finding ways to circumvent ad blockers.</p>
<p>Some say <a href="https://blog.stackoverflow.com/2016/02/why-stack-overflow-doesnt-care-about-ad-blockers/">they don’t care about ad blockers</a> because it saves money on pay-per-click ads by separating out the people who were never going to buy. </p>
<p>Rather than trying to circumvent ad blockers or pretend they don’t matter, online advertisers need to negotiate a workable compromise by producing content that people <em>want</em> to consume. They need to engage people in a win-win dialogue that ultimately leads to a conversion. </p>
<p>Advertisers could hire new categories of creative talent who can leverage social media and mobile platforms to connect with people in new ways. There will be much trial and error before getting things right so clients will need to be understanding.</p>
<p>Advertisers may also decide, for pragmatic reasons, to produce quality online content that meets a typical ad blocker’s published guidelines. These are based on what people say they do not like. For example, <a href="https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads#not-acceptable-ad">Adblock Plus says</a> it would probably white list ads that avoid some of these these features: </p>
<ul>
<li>ads with excessive or non user-initiated hover effects</li>
<li>autoplay-sound or video ads</li>
<li>overlay, expanding or oversized image ads</li>
<li>pop-ups and pop-unders</li>
<li>animated ads or rich media ads such as Flash and Shockwave ads</li>
</ul>
<p>And sometimes online ad placement goes <a href="https://econsultancy.com/blog/6666-ten-horrifying-display-ad-placements-nsfw/">terribly wrong</a> simply because it can. </p>
<h2>Improve quality, raise standards</h2>
<p>Apart from avoiding these annoying or objectionable tactics, what else can online advertisers do? They might do more high quality native advertising. These are sponsored articles that match the form and style of a publication, but which contain a clear message and call to action. </p>
<p>Some would argue that native advertising is deceptive. However, if it is clearly identified as sponsored content and is of high quality, it is arguably acceptable and people will consume it.</p>
<p>When Netflix wanted to promote its <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80025172">Narcos</a> series, it commissioned a well-written piece of native advertising that appeared in the Wall Street Journal that tells the story of <a href="http://creativity-online.com/work/netflix-cocainenomics/43432">cocaine as a business</a>. This follows an earlier piece in the New York Times advertising <a href="http://adage.com/article/media/york-times-runs-native-ad-orange-black/293713/">Orange is the New Black</a>.</p>
<p>Native advertising and sponsored content generally calls for careful editorial judgement. It can backfire badly if the readership is misjudged. For example, in January 2013, The Atlantic ran paid <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/02/on-the-atlantics-scientology-ad-and-aftermath/273447/">advertorial</a> from the Church of Scientology praising its leader David Miscavige.</p>
<p>A strong reader backlash prompted the magazine to retract the ad and publish an apology the next day. The incident did some damage to the magazine’s reputation. </p>
<h2>What people like</h2>
<p>If online advertising is to survive, it needs to learn fast from the ad blocking lesson. If people don’t like something they will find a way to avoid or get rid of it.</p>
<p>So advertisers need to understand what people do like, what doesn’t annoy or offend. That’s something the biggest players on the internet – Google, Apple and Facebook for example – are <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/17/9338963/welcome-to-hell-apple-vs-google-vs-facebook-and-the-slow-death-of-the-web">trying to figure out</a>.</p>
<p>People like relevance. Ads will be interesting if they are relevant to what people are doing online. Google tries to do this with its targeted advertising links that appear on the right side of the search results page that are linked to the topic of the search. </p>
<p>And online advertising is one of the biggest earners for Google with year-on-year revenue up 17% to US$19-billion for the final three months of 2015, according to parent company ABC’s <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/news/earnings/2015/Q4_google_earnings/index.html">latest financial report</a>.</p>
<p>Any online ad should also give enough contextual information to let the reader know what to expect, helping them to make informed choices. And the link should not deceive the user into clicking on it. </p>
<p>People hate interstitial ads, those whole page pop-ups that dominate the screen. You cannot proceed until you either sign up or find an obscure button. Even worse is no button; you are trapped. And that’s when they look to install an ad blocker.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54244/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Tuffley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Online publishers are losing millions in lost earnings to ad blockers. But they are here to stay. So how can advertising change to reach its audience?David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics and Socio-Technical Studies , Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532452016-01-22T13:44:33Z2016-01-22T13:44:33ZSurprisingly, the online advertising industry’s future may lie in offering more privacy, not less<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108989/original/image-20160122-425-122b2z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rawpixel.com/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The online advertising industry has faced a <a href="https://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Coping_with_the_digital_backlash_.news?ID=36027">considerable backlash</a> recently as a greater understanding of how the practices of data scraping, aggregation, mining and user profiling are carried out behind the scenes. From Edward Snowden’s revelations of governments using social media to perform mass surveillance, to the often creepy presence of targeted adverts that slow mobile web browsing to a crawl, we’re now <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c84a647e-d3af-11e4-99bd-00144feab7de.html">much more aware and concerned</a> about who knows what about us.</p>
<p>So privacy and consent is one concern about this industry, which is built around shadowy data aggregators and brokers who sell our data to third parties. But as the data business is booming, another line of thought is to wonder why we, who generate this valuable data, don’t see any of the profits.</p>
<p>The industry has highlighted its contribution to the economy during troubled economic times, and the role of adverts and data services in <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-business/ad-haters-the-backlash-against-google-and-facebook/a/d-id/1316311">ensuring web content remains free for all</a>. Without adverts, their argument goes, the internet would look very different, with many websites turning to paid-for models. And there is a democratic aspect too: free flow of data is not just essential for the advertising industry, but also for promoting transparency and holding government and institutions to account. The industry strives to shift its public image from exploiters of free data to heroic figures of democracy and an engine of economic growth.</p>
<p>However, despite these rebranding efforts, the use of ad-blocking software has <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c84a647e-d3af-11e4-99bd-00144feab7de.html">leapt by 70% in two years</a>. The European Union has dedicated much time and effort to drafting the new General Data Protection Regulation in order to tackle the issues raised by the online data industry directly. If this is the death-knell of the industry, will it also bring about fundamental changes to the internet and to the economy, as online advertisers would have us believe?</p>
<p>Certainly the industry seems worried, having <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151229/08111133184/gq-forbes-go-after-adblocker-users-rather-than-their-own-shitty-advertising-inventory.shtml">considered legal action</a> against ad-blocking firms and being <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-eu-data-protection-law-could-interfere-with-targeted-ads-43651">vocal critics of the EU data protection laws</a>. But our <a href="http://www.marketproblems.com/reports.html">research</a> suggests that there might be a reconciliation emerging that would bring together the concerns of economic exploitation, privacy and impact on the wider economy. And while this involves new software and services, it also requires a fundamental redefinition of how we consider online privacy and rights over the data we generate.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108990/original/image-20160122-413-1kfq517.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Locking data away need not mean it can’t be used.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Maxx-Studio/shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Keep your privacy, and get paid</h2>
<p>Much of the software, services and regulatory devices developed during the past few years are to address concerns around the online data industry. Alongside ad-blockers are <a href="http://donottrack.us/">“do-not-track” instructions</a> to prevent tracking cookies, for example, but this on-or-off choice does nothing for concerns about economic impact. Instead a new approach is to involve users in how their data is used.</p>
<p>Products such as <a href="https://www.ctrl-shift.co.uk/news/general/2014/07/03/guest-post-rebuilding-the-internet-around-you-by-graham-hill/">data vaults</a> will allow users to lock away their personal online data as it is generated and decide who to share it with and for what purposes. Vaults will be funded by aggregating individual preferences from users, anonymising them and then using this to strike a commercial deal with relevant third-party buyers. The vault provider then asks customers to establish which of them wish to take up the deal – this way, some of the commercial value of the data is realised, but without directly infringing the users’ privacy – a compromise.</p>
<p>Using data vaults will encourage us to change the way we think about privacy through notions of ownership and control, rather than couching discussions in terms of metaphors about privacy “invasions”. Instead of being invaded, now the user can make their preferences count.</p>
<p>For this to work it requires new models of exchange and property rights. Ownership of data must be returned to the users who generated it, to whom it relates and who now decide who has access to their data and in what form. Owning their data means users can participate in new commercial relationships and means of exchange. For example, if 1,000 data vault users want a holiday in Spain for two weeks in August, access to their data is a bargaining chip for the vault operator to take to travel companies and seek suitable offers for the vault users, as potential customers. Instead of a one-way exploitation of free data, users can receive a piece of the action. </p>
<p>Unlike online data firms’ attempts to profile us through our online activity, the vault knows who we are and allows us to set our preferences. Using anonymised, aggregated data that include user preferences should increase the chances that the return offered to users is more relevant. So far from being the end of online business as we know it, as the doom-mongers would have it, in fact placing users in control not only reconfigures privacy to their benefit, but also presents them with things they’re more likely to buy – which means the advertisers benefit too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53245/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Neyland receives funding from the European Research Council, under grant: 313173</span></em></p>There is a way to ensure online advertising, the free web, and privacy can all coexist together.Daniel Neyland, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/486092015-10-09T05:28:53Z2015-10-09T05:28:53ZWeb users are caught in a tug-of-war between advertisers and ad-blockers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97645/original/image-20151007-7363-1xrn26m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sometimes it seems there's more ads than content.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bloomua/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The battle between the advertising industry, mobile phone operators, publishers and privacy advocates has reached new heights, with Apple’s decision to allow <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/30/adblock-plus-the-worlds-most-popular-ad-blocker-lands-on-ios/">ad-blocking extensions</a> in its Safari browser sparking fears that the multi-billion dollar mobile ad industry could be about to take an expensive haircut. While third-party ad-blocking apps have been around for a while, few are used on mobile platforms – they are more commonly found on desktop and laptop computers.</p>
<p>A recent New York Times article looking at 50 top mobile news websites indicated that of all the data downloaded as part of each web page, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/01/business/cost-of-mobile-ads.html">more than half was made up of ads</a>. Recent studies of large volumes of mobile traffic from a European telecoms firm has also revealed that a <a href="http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/%7Env240/papers/AdTraffic_IMC2012.pdf">large proportion of the bandwidth</a> used while browsing the internet is in fact consumed by the adverts, trackers and widgets embedded in web pages. In addition to being an annoyance, cluttering up the screen, draining battery life and slowing down the whole mobile browsing experience, many poorly targeted ads are really just another form of spam.</p>
<p>But why are mobile ads so inefficient? This is mostly due to the complex ecosystem in the mobile advertising industry. The majority of apps in the popular markets such as Apple App Store and Google Play are <a href="http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/%7Eil235/papers/HotMobile12_Leontiadis.pdf">free</a>. Many developers provide a small space for advertising to earn some cash from their work. These spaces are populated by ads and ad-broker services, which pass onto the developer a percentage of the profits, as measured in terms of views (known as impressions) and clicks. Earnings are usually paid on impressions by the thousand, so ad brokers aim to maximise the number of ads and their frequency with which they’re displayed on the user’s screen.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97467/original/image-20151006-7335-182m9mn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How the mobile ad ecosystem works.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ACM</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are two major issues in this ecosystem: firstly, the cost to the consumer in terms of bandwidth and energy – and their <a href="http://bileta.nsdesign7.net/content/files/conference%20papers/2007/Privacy%20issues%20in%20Mobile%20Advertising.pdf">privacy</a>. Personal data is the main fuel for the advertising industry, and thousands of companies work within the ad ecosystem collecting, <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/530741/the-murky-world-of-third-party-web-tracking/">tracking and selling data</a> on users and their browsing habits. Second, the fact that the basis of the ecosystem, generating payments through impressions and clicks, can be gamed by bots – <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/07/23/mobile-ad-fraud/">click fraud</a> – generating huge, unwarranted costs for advertisers.</p>
<h2>Doing ads better is better for everyone</h2>
<p>The internet-connected smartphone for a mass market is barely ten years old, so the mobile advertising industry is still in its infancy. One could compare the tension between the market players with the early days of MP3 music sharing sites (Napster, Limewire, Shareaza) and the eventual success of the legal, paid model that evolved from them. Consumers’ reliance on free apps in exchange for their personal data has boosted the aggressive data collection behaviour of the advertising industry. This in turn has encouraged privacy and consumer rights advocates to create and support ad-blocking software. Inevitably, this three-way tension will lead to more oversight and legislation to tame the industry’s excesses, particularly in the highly regulated European market.</p>
<p>As an extreme example, a small mobile operator this week decided to <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/digicel-becomes-first-mobile-carrier-to-sign-up-shine-ad-blocker-2015-9">block mobile ads altogether</a>. This is certainly one solution, but if such a step were to be widely taken this would severely limit the degree to which app developers could continue to innovate and create while maintaining a free product and free content for users. </p>
<p>Handing control of the web ecosystem to telecoms companies or small yet powerful ad-blocking businesses that allow advertisers to <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/02/over-300-businesses-now-whitelisted-on-adblock-plus-10-pay-to-play/">whitelist their ads</a> so that they’re still seen by users, is an undesirable outcome for most. On the other hand, research into <a href="http://www.deutsche-telekom-laboratories.de/%7Epanhui/publications/mobiad2k10.pdf">privacy-preserving mobile advertising</a> methods is underway, and there have been numerous calls for users to have <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/24/facebook-privacy-convert-personal-data-mining">more control over their personal data</a>. Done properly, in a way that doesn’t hit users in the pocket or degrade their web browsing experience, there’s no reason why ads, perhaps less targeted ads, wouldn’t be accepted again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hamed Haddadi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Online advertising is so out of control, sometimes there’s more ads than content.Hamed Haddadi, Lecturer Assistant Professor in Digital Media, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/482772015-09-29T12:00:24Z2015-09-29T12:00:24ZAd industry may gripe about adblockers, but they broke the contract – not us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96495/original/image-20150928-30970-10x1bfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">madpixblue/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest version of Apple’s operating system for phones and tablets, iOS9, allows the <a href="http://moneyweek.com/is-ad-blocking-bringing-about-the-end-of-the-free-internet/">installation of adblocking software</a> that removes advertising, analytics and tracking within Apple’s Safari browser. While Apple’s smartphone market share is <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2974005/phones/apple-increase-gains-market-share-despite-global-slowdown-in-smartphone-sales.html">only around 14% worldwide</a>, this has prompted another outpouring from the mobile and web advertising industry on the effects of adblockers, and discussion as to whether a “free” web can exist without adverts. </p>
<p>It’s not a straightforward question: advertising executives and publishers complain that ads fund “free” content and adblockers break this contract. Defenders of adblocking point out that the techniques used to serve ads are underhand and that the ads themselves are intrusive. Who is right?</p>
<h2>Why we use adblockers</h2>
<p>There are good reasons for using adblockers. People are usually prompted to do so by online advertising techniques that they find intrusive. These include pop-ups, pop-unders, blinking ads, being forced to watch videos before getting to the content, and ads that contravene the <a href="https://acceptableads.org/">Acceptable Ads Manifesto</a>. </p>
<p>Adverts and trackers can be loaded from multiple third-party websites, inserted into the web page by advertising networks rather than by the site’s publishers. While this saves publishers the hassle of finding advertisers and negotiating rates, it means they often have little say over what ads appear, which can lead to ads that are irrelevant, dubious, even offensive. The additional load on the browser from connecting to multiple sites at once also drains battery and bandwidth and slows down the page load – all for something we don’t want and which scours our devices to collect information about us for further use. </p>
<p>The UK’s Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) believe that <a href="http://www.iabuk.net/about/press/archive/15-of-britons-online-are-blocking-ads">15% of British adults use adblockers</a>. The IAB study found that people blocked adverts because they were intrusive (73%), ugly or annoying (55%), slowed down web browsers (54%), were irrelevant (46%), or over privacy concerns (31%). What this suggests is that users don’t reject advertising <em>per se</em>, but intrusive advertising specifically. </p>
<h2>Advertising, ethics and the web</h2>
<p>The advertising industry argues that adblockers undermine the revenue model for publishers that relies upon behaviourally targeted advertising. They claim adblockers stifle start-ups that are dependent on advertising as a means of generating revenue. The theory goes that without advertising revenue all that’s left is subscription services, something which generally only large corporations are good at building. </p>
<p>While there is some truth to this, the argument assumes that digital start-ups (whether this be an app, a new social media service, or a news website) have access to a large user base from which to generate ad revenue. But of course this isn’t the case when firms are only just getting going. Start-ups rely on investment to grow and be self-sustaining: only then can advertising assist. </p>
<p>It is reasonable to argue that content has to be paid for. We might try to ignore the adverts that subsidise printed newspapers and magazines, but we cannot remove them. However, in respect of mobile devices – which have now become the <a href="http://blog.realmatch.com/trade-publishers/mobile-usage-now-larger-than-desktop-what-does-this-mean-for-publishers/">primary means through which the world gets online</a> – we must also consider the data plan that we pay for as part of our mobile phone contract. The firm behind one mobile adblocker, Shine, estimates that <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/israeli-ad-blocker-shine-could-threaten-mobile-advertising-2015-5?r=US&IR=T">depending on where we live, ads can use up 10-50% of a user’s data allowance</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96498/original/image-20150928-30986-1qu0ygs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annoying mobile ads make for unhappy phones and users.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronbennetts/5516621911">ronbennetts</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Browsers as consent mechanisms</h2>
<p>So the case for mobile is different, in that ads represent a cost to the user. Europeans living in EU member states have the right to refuse to be tracked by third parties. This comes under Article 5(3) of the <a href="https://www.ashurst.com/publication-item.aspx?id_Content=5665">EU ePrivacy Directive</a>, that in 2012 was altered so people have to be asked upfront whether they consent to cookies.</p>
<p>The aim of this was to shift third-party cookies from being opt-out to being opt-in. The ad industry argued that people’s web browser settings were sufficient to indicate consent to interest-based advertising and tracking – but of course, many people do not know how to alter browser settings. Seen in this way, adblockers are a means of expressing (or rather, denying) consent – something made clear by the need to find and install an adblocking programme or browser extension.</p>
<p>The problem with the implied contract of advertising-for-content is that it is opaque and built upon questionable terms. It’s disingenuous to blame people for using adblockers: we accept adverts in magazines, newspapers and cinemas and on radio, billboards and television. The good ones make us smile. The best we fondly remember. We mostly stick to the deal that we get content free or at reduced cost in exchange for being exposed to ads. </p>
<p>But the growth of adblocking demonstrates that parts of the advertising industry have overstepped the mark with their creepy tracking mechanisms and deliberately confusing or irritating formats. The ad industry broke the contract, not us. How does anyone think that irritating people is the way forward? Which brand, large or small, would want to be associated with annoying their customers?</p>
<p>The growing number of people using desktop and mobile adblockers leaves the online advertising industry two options: fight web users and ad-blocking firms by lobbying for legal change or protection, or the more interesting route of trying to create a model that works for everyone. Rather than fighting the tide, advertising and publishing need to find a way to swim with it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew McStay receives funding from AHRC and ESRC. </span></em></p>Instead of arguing over whether adblocking is right or wrong, advertisers and publishers could work to make the web better.Andrew McStay, Senior Lecturer in Media Culture, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/478452015-09-22T01:15:32Z2015-09-22T01:15:32ZThe war on online advertising is intensifying, and the ads are losing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95613/original/image-20150922-31528-1wv5my3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1562%2C134%2C5847%2C4163&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Adblocking software has online advertising in retreat.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>A new front in the war against online advertising has opened up with the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/ios-9-released-what-time-will-new-iphone-system-update-come-out-10503357.html">official release</a> of Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 9. The most contentious feature was the ability for the mobile version of Safari to allow extensions to block ads. </p>
<p>Not only was there ad blocking software ready for installation on the day of the launch, but one application, <a href="http://www.marco.org/2015/09/16/peace-content-blocker">Peace</a>, became the top downloaded paid app on the iTunes App Store. The developer, Marco Arment, justified the need for ad blocking because online ads were engaging in excessive tracking and taking up space, data allowance and generally making the mobile browser experience worse for everyone. </p>
<p>But then, barely a day later, Arment pulled the app from the App Store, <a href="http://www.marco.org/2015/09/18/just-doesnt-feel-good">declaring</a> that he didn’t “feel right” profiting from blocking other peoples’ ability to make money from ads. On <a href="https://twitter.com/marcoarment">Twitter</a>, Arment went from being “immensely proud” of his app hitting the number one spot on iTunes to <a href="https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/644917185949921282">announcing</a> that he was pulling it from the store.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"644917185949921282"}"></div></p>
<p>Although Arment hasn’t elaborated on the precise technical reasons for pulling the app, it seems that the people behind <a href="https://www.ghostery.com/en/articles/the-peace-app-experiment/">Ghostery</a>, the ad blocking technology that underpinned the app, decided that his implementation was not how they imagined their software being used. </p>
<p>Ghostery advocated for users of ad blockers to be “empowered” to decide for themselves what ads and trackers to block rather than the preemptive blocking that had been implemented in the initial version of Peace.</p>
<h2>The public makes its views crystal clear</h2>
<p>Since Peace has capitulated, another ad blocker, <a href="http://crystalapp.co/">Crystal</a> has taken the vanguard as the most downloaded paid app on iTunes. </p>
<p>Setting aside the arguments for or against online advertising, one thing is absolutely clear: the public do not want advertising to be part of their web browsing experience. So it really doesn’t matter whether web sites see this as the only way that they can find to provide free content. </p>
<p>The argument that this is all about <a href="https://acceptableads.org/">bad vs good ads</a> is also clearly not an issue any more. Ad blockers could render all ads obsolete, regardless of their perceived quality. Nobody is going to spend any time worrying about whether they should unblock particular ads. </p>
<p>Ghostery may have had laudable ambitions for an honest dialogue about ad tracking and ad quality, but it isn’t a conversation that the general public is interested in having. They simply want a total victory over online advertising. </p>
<h2>The fallacy of the implied contract of ads for content</h2>
<p>In the debate about the role of advertising, advocates have argued that it enables the supply of free content. If not for advertising, people would have to pay for the content through subscriptions.</p>
<p>So, in essence, there is an “implied contract” between consumers of a site and those providing the free content: web site visitors get access to the content in exchange for being subjected to ads and providing private information through tracking their use of the site.</p>
<p>The problem with this argument is that visitors are never given the explicit choice to make that informed decision. The “contract” also conveniently leaves out the fact that, in addition to the loss of privacy and the visual experience of ads, their data allocation is going to be used, web pages will load slower, and overall, their experience of the site will be diminished. </p>
<p>The argument for the need for advertising is a weak one. There are plenty of businesses that have shown that people are willing to pay for content if it is packaged such that they can easily see value for money.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a> and <a href="http://www.hulu.com/">Hulu</a> are examples of services that people are prepared to pay for in exchange for both the content and it being advertising free. In fact, many companies see the annoyance that customers feel with ads as a way of driving them to pay for versions of their apps that get rid of them.</p>
<h2>The ad wars will continue</h2>
<p>The war on advertising is far from over. Google, Apple and others are still going to provide ads in the protected environments of their apps, and in Google’s case, its videos.</p>
<p>Advertisers will continue to sell ads to clients who will, in turn, hope that they can get their ads in front of the remaining people who don’t use ad blocking software. </p>
<p>What the enormous popularity of ad blocking software has shown is that, if there is an “implied contract” for access to content in return for viewing ads, the public clearly is not willing to agree to it. </p>
<p>This leaves content providers with a clear message that they will need to find alternative ways of supporting the provision of that content like many other businesses do, without the use of advertising.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The rapid uptake of adblocking software on Apple’s latest devices shows that most users would be happy to see the back of online advertising.David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.