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Ad blocking is under attack

blog.adguard.com

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Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#461

Post by [deleted] »

vinylkey wrote: post #145
anilgulecha wrote: post #32

It was admiral that did this: https://blog.getadmiral.com/dmca-easylist-adblock-copyright-... They even clearly state they used the only tool available to them, DCMA. From all the current summaries on this, DMCA does not apply to a line entry in easylist. A domain can be trademarked. This should be added back in. And if github cannot standup to DMCA abuse, then well, easylist and all other developers should be giving…

So, in that blog post, they state: "We asked them 24 days ago to remove functionalclam[.]com on the original commit." Their request is here: https://github.com/easylist/easylist/commit/1ba8d4afeec6d562... And was made by this account: https://github.com/dmcahelper So, they made a github account the same day they made the "request" with an account that in no way indicates where the request is coming from? The github p…

[deleted]

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#462

Post by romanovcode »

pfg wrote: post #48
romanovcode wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as code is hosted in U.S. (GitHub) the cat and mouse game will continue. If you host your repo in some other country that does not care about U.S. DMCA then it should be fine.

Other countries have copyright laws too. Most of these laws have some kind of notice-followed-by-takedown protocol, and my understanding is that in many jurisdictions, a DMCA takedown notice qualifies as such a notice. Probably the only major difference would be the amount of effort the infringed party would have to go through to enforce the takedown notice if the infringing party is non-compliant. Disclaimer: IANAL.

For example, if you host this list in Russia DMCA will not do anything because (sorry for my French) Russia does not give a shit about U.S. copyright laws.

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#463

Post by [deleted] »

wu-ikkyu wrote: post #373
bogomipz wrote: post #286

From a recent WSJ article about anti-ad blocking companies: “We really think the free internet is at risk because of ad-blocking, so these types of solutions are needed to turn the tide”, said Dan Rua, CEO of ad-blocking “revenue recovery” company Admiral, which recently raised $2.5 million to help build its platform."[1] It's amazing how selective the CEO's concern for the "free internet" is. Threatening community g…

From Dan Rua's LinkedIn: >The power of the internet to inform, entertain and liberate mankind is at a crossroads. The future of ad-supported content is in peril, and with it, free access for citizens to critical news, education, discourse and resources the world over. The shorthand name for this looming catastrophe is "adblocking" It's like a pimp claiming the human race is going to stop reproducing and die out becau…

[deleted]

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#464

Post by Fiahil »

anilgulecha wrote: post #32

It was admiral that did this: https://blog.getadmiral.com/dmca-easylist-adblock-copyright-... They even clearly state they used the only tool available to them, DCMA. From all the current summaries on this, DMCA does not apply to a line entry in easylist. A domain can be trademarked. This should be added back in. And if github cannot standup to DMCA abuse, then well, easylist and all other developers should be giving…

From the original github commit:

> With all these dozens of domains (over a hundred), it sure smells like they're incorporating a HSTS fingerprinting attack into their product portfolio. HSTS fingerprinting enables a server to tag every browser with an n-bit (ie: 100 domains is 100 bits) unique identifier so you can track that browser whenever it returns (or wherever it goes). Since users cannot clear their "HSTS cookies" as it were, this fingerprint remains permanently associated with that browser. > > Wonderful feature for an ad agency to track each visitor indefinitely. Even while in Private Browsing / Incognito mode.

Okay. Let's eradicate them from the surface of this planet.

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#465

Post by KGIII »

Nexxxeh wrote: post #285
Overtonwindow wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might create a new front in the war against ads. You'll have ad blockers, then they'll build in a component to block anti-adblock mechanisms, which will force the ad makers to employ more countermeasures... I don't see how the content providers will ever win this war. They have more to lose here.

Isn't that front already open? >uBO-Extra >A companion extension to uBlock Origin: to gain ability to foil early anti-user mechanisms working around content blockers or even a browser privacy settings. I think /u/gorhill is the lord of this particular war, and his followers are armed to the teeth. I type this on Firefox on Android with uBlock Origin. I check his github occasionally to see if he accepts donations, and…

I have checked multiple times and gorhill doesn't appear to accept donations. I seem to recall reading a thread where they indicated they didn't want to ever be considered to be beholden to anyone.

As mentioned above, uMatrix is my favorite. Once configured, it is easy... There is a learning curve.

I'd donate regularly, but that doesn't appear likely. I greatly appreciate their work.

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#467

Post by ascorbic »

jfoutz wrote: post #441
throwawaywonk wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it that the tech set always forgets that CS pedantry != legal pedantry? Have we forgotten about intent? You can't just change the line to a regex that /just happens/ to match that URL and go "neener neener neener it's not the same!" Are you willing to argue in court that that line was changed and it /just so happened/ to match the domain from before? Do you have a plausible explanation for why that change woul…

The claim is about copyrighted material thus DMCA, right? the only reason that string appears is for matching. The intent is for identification, not stealing someone else's copyrighted material. If there's a better way to match than comparing to a literal copy then we should do that. Ideally, one regex that matches all offending domains and no others.

They're not claiming copyright on the domain name. They're saying that by blocking it, they're violating the anti-circumvention clauses of the DMCA.

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#468

Post by mahyarm »

colept wrote: post #206

I have a very unpopular opinion that pulls me in two directions. Advertisements have exceeded the point of being a nuisance for many years. But adblocking is a fight that solves symptoms and will affect more than just advertising in a negative way. The best parallel I can draw is to the Napster era when pirating music cut off the head of the chicken in the industry. Hollywood and like were refusing to adjust to digit…

All of this adblock tech works on domain blocking for the most part. If they wanted to, they could host the ads on the first party server and most ad blocking wouldn't work anymore.

They haven't yet, so it hasn't gotten to the point where they have been forced to. This adblock whining / detection lets publishers keep third party ad hosting and reduce adblock usage.

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#469

Post by KGIII »

feelin_googley wrote: post #335

A quick Google search reveals the following. "Admiral identifies audiences with ad blockers turned on, works to re-establish those users (by opting in to a lightened ad experience, say, or asking to be whitelisted) and then makes a small cut of every ad served to the reacquired audience." Source: https://adexchanger.com/publishers/another-ad-blocking-solut... tl;dr Admiral is a startup that measures an audience's "ad…

Bordering on off-topic: what is, "Id?"

Re: Ad blocking is under attack

#470

Post by RandVal30142 »

justinmayer wrote: post #419
Hoshea wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may not be a bad idea to report this user via GitHub's "block or report" feature when viewing that account: https://github.com/dmcahelper That type of behavior can only be bad for open source software. Threats like "to minimize file and repository impacts" are going to push more folks toward private repositories if they don't understand that it's not an actual authority pressing them into making changes on a given…

Agreed. I just reported that account ( https://github.com/dmcahelper ) for submitting spurious DMCA takedown requests. GitHub personnel responded promptly: Hi Justin, Thanks for writing in. We're looking at the account. All best, (GitHub employee name redacted) GitHub is listening. Please consider reporting this account, which can be done via the link above. Look for Block or report user link under the user descripti…

Reported.

edit:

Response from support: "Hi xxxxx. This account is not affiliated with GitHub and we are looking into it."

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