US-based ISP EarthLink has released an upgrade of its access
software that will allow web surfers to banish pop-up ads. The new
feature of the software is part of the company’s marketing campaign
to differentiate itself from competitors AOL and MSN, targeting
those who are annoyed by pop-ups and spam.
The control of third party advertising is a contentious issue.
Free software from Gator.com became the most high profile of the
so-called ad-jacking applications – by effectively replacing one
site’s advertising with ads from a rival. Gator stopped this
controversial practice.
Gator is still being sued because it controls users’ browsers to
launch rivals’ pop-up ads when the users visit particular sites.
For example, a Gator user visiting Amazon.com may see a pop-up ad
for competitor site Half.com.
Among the arguments of aggrieved web site businesses is that
Gator is changing what the user sees when visiting the page.
Gator’s argument is that users can and should control what they see
– and browsers already give them power to do this, e.g. by
disabling graphics.
Earthlink’s approach to blocking all pop-ups is something that
free software applications already offer. While upsetting
advertisers, it is less likely to result in legal action.
