Facebook’s Ad-blocking Decision

Written by: Advantage IM
August 10, 2016

There have been many Facebook Changes  and Updates this week and last, we’ve seen re-organization and are really loving the new look and feel.  Something you might not necessarily notice are that there are no more ads, or are there?  Facebook has made the decision so make it’s HTML behind ads indistinguishable from the organic content, this way it bypasses ad blockers you may have set in place to prevent pop ups and to help your browsers to run faster.  They have allowed for individuals to customize their ad preferences, this allows us to really curb what non-organic content shows up in our feed.  As of yesterday you should have been given the option to click on and locate your ad preferences and set them to your liking.

Facebook commissioned research firm Ipsos to investigate why reports say 70 million Americans and nearly 200 million people worldwide use adblockers. It found that “The main reasons cited for using ad blockers include avoiding disruptive ads (69%), ads that slow down their browsing experience (58%) and security / malware risks (56%).” Privacy wasn’t the top answer. So Facebook thinks if its can make its ads non-interruptive, fast, and secure, people won’t mind.

The rationale for the change, according to Facebook’s VP of ads Andrew Bosworth, is that “Part of the mission of the company is to create connections between people and businesses”, which adblockers prevent. At the same time, Boz says “Ads on Facebook don’t pay for Facebook for one person. They pay for a service that’s free around the world. The participation of everyone really helps the global community.”

Importantly, Facebook refused to pay the ransom most adblocking software companies are willing to accept to whitelist certain sites and keep showing their ads.

Instead, since it serves and measures its own ads rather than using third-parties that leave traces adblockers can spot, it could hide the evidence. Adblockers would have to snoop the JavaScript or actual content shown by Facebook to detect and remove ads, which would significantly slow down load times. Facebook is betting users would rather just endure the ads. Bosworth tells me “I think the alternatives for adblockers would be very deleterious to the user experience”.

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