New anti-advertising features proposed by the Firefox web browser are causing an increased amount of concern for advertisers and publishers alike. The browser is a popular choice for web users, boasting hundreds of millions of downloads and one of the largest user bases in the industry.
Firefox plans to implement anti-tracking technology that would block most forms of online advertising, including those used by some of the web’s biggest publishers and news websites. The tracking will function by limiting the usage of cookies, which are used by online advertisers to track the online activity of their prospects.
While the move has been praised by anti-advertising advocates, it’s caused concern for some of the web’s top publishers and advertising networks. Many of the largest websites on the Internet derive some or all of their income from advertising, with the proposed cookie blocking by Firefox threatening to reduce their income.
Those in the advertising industry have been vocally critical of Firefox’s idea. Randall Rothenberg, the president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, claimed that small web publishers, particularly businesses that derive their income from targeted ads, would be hurt the hardest by the change in browser data collection.
Web users currently have access to a variety of options for blocking advertising and limiting the scope of data collection. Advertising-supported websites have generally taken a relaxed stance to user ad blocking, although many predict that an increase in advertising blocking could encourage websites to start using subscription pay walls.
While the Mozilla Corporation, the developers and distributors of Firefox, plan to go ahead with their decision, the technology remains months away from being ready to use. The group claims that its blocking technology will help ‘trackers behave better’ by limiting their ability to collect data.
