Google follows him crusade against ad blockers and the next step will come from a new policy on the Manifest V3 platform, which will include severe restrictions on extension updates and thus the ability of this type of software to act against advertising as well as massive data collection.

You already know that Google gets a big slice of the internet advertising pie, either through its own services or third-party services where it operates, and has been fighting a cat-and-mouse game against ad blockers for some time now. We saw it on YouTube last month. To discourage users from using blockers on the portal, Google started by pausing videos and then adding an intentional delay to their loading if it detected a blocker. The measure appears to be effective as developers have reported a spike in blocker uninstalls.

Here we have to take the usual considerations into account. YouTube is free and ad-supported. The same thing happens with many media such as the one you are reading, which may disappear due to the massive use of blockers. Virtue lies in balance and advertising should be considered at the right level, avoiding these invasive proposals and taking care of the important part of privacy, while users must be responsible for the survival of the media we love and enjoy for free.

The V3 Manifesto Against Ad Blockers

Following direct action on YouTube videos, Google is waging war on ad blockers directly to those who design Chrome extensions. And it will do so with a new policy in Manifest V3, a new framework for extension development that will be mandatory from June 2024.

The current Manifest V2 extension platform allows developers to update their extensions very quickly. However, when Manifest V3 becomes mandatory, there will be new restrictions that could dramatically slow down the speed at which developers can update extensions because future updates must go through a complete inspection process before approving and sending to users.

Ad blockers rely on rapid updates to counter updates to the ad delivery system of services like YouTube. The new review process, which will be published in the Chrome Web Store, can take anywhere from a few hours to three weeks. It is clear that such a move will slow the rollout of updates and give YouTube time to adjust its algorithms and reduce the effectiveness of ad blocking attempts. Or even unnecessary in some cases.

Total: the new weapon will be timeas some blocking administrators acknowledge: “With Manifest V3, Google closes the door on ad-blocking innovation and introduces another layer of control that slows how ad blockers can respond to new methods of advertising and online tracking”.

Google continues to provide than Manifest V3 “improves privacy, security and performance” Chrome browser, but all the comments we can find from groups other than the big ad companies dispute that description. The Electronic Frontier Foundation rated the Google Manifest V3 communication as «deceptive and threatening«and other alternative vendors such as Mozilla criticized much of the project’s rationale.

We will see what happens from June 2024. On this issue, we will continue to hope for the balance that we talked about. Responsible advertising in number, design and privacy. Surely then ad blockers would have no reason to exist. Not even Google’s war against them.