When the subject of advertising blocking comes up, there’s always the argument that by ad-blocking you deprive those running a site from revenue. Frequently, it is phrased as “running an ad-blocker is theft”. This argument hinges upon the assumption that by not giving the advertiser full, unfettered and unregulated access to your device, your time, your eyes, your privacy, etc., you somehow deprive them of something that is already theirs… that you’re taking something that they already possessed.
We, at Fundamental Software, think that these arguments against blocking advertising are false and disingenuous. We take a more aggressive stance: if there is any theft going on, it is theft from you, the one being advertised to. Stay tuned for a series of posts on how advertising is actually theft from you.