Report: Google Plans to Implement Ad-Block Feature in Chrome Browser

Google reportedly plans to implement an ad-blocking feature directly into its Chrome web browser according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the ad-blocking feature that Google is considering enabling by default within their Chrome browser would filter out certain types of ads that are deemed by Google to provide poor web browsing experiences. Google will reportedly announce the new feature in coming weeks but has not yet worked out the finer details of the software.

Some ads that may be blocked are those that violate the recently released standards from the Coalition for Better Ads. The standards released by the group state that pop-ups, auto-playing video ads with sound, and ads with countdown timers are deemed to be “beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability” and could be some of the first placed on a blacklist by Google.

Google is reportedly also considering blocking all ads on a website deemed to display offensive ads instead of picking out the offensive ad itself. This may be done in an effort to force website owners to monitor the advertisements on their platform and ensure that they meet Google’s guidelines.

Google currently already pays a fee to be part of an “acceptable ads” program offered by software company Eyeo GmbH, which allows some of Google’s ads to bypass the filters of the popular ad-blocking software Adblock Plus. By taking their ad-blocking in-house, Google may have more control over where their content appears and increase their already large advertising revenue.