Users of the Adblock browser extension may see something today they're not used to when they surf the web: ads.
The ad-blocking giant, which claims to have 50 million users, will still remove advertisements from the web. But instead of showing the "peaceful, blank spaces you're accustomed to not noticing," Adblock will replace publishers' ads with banners supporting Amnesty International.
Even though it's for just one day, it puts Cubbage and his company in the unusual position of becoming a platform for large online banner ads—a business he has denounced vociferously. Even users who let Adblock know they're willing to see "unobtrusive" ads will never see banners the size of the Amnesty campaign. The ads that Adblock deems "unobtrusive" are limited to things like Google text ads, and Amazon suggestions. (The companies that have their ads whitelisted also pay Adblock for the privilege.)
The mere possibility that the growing ad-blocking industry could become its own "delete and replace" advertising hasn't gone unnoticed in the marketing and media world, where ad-blocking has become a growing, and controversial, practice.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/03/in-the-name-of-free-speech-adblock-serves-up-ads-just-for-a-day/
