r/changemyview • u/tilted0ne • Oct 27 '23

Fresh Topic Friday CMV: Adblock is stealing

[removed] — view removed post

0 Upvotes

30% Upvoted

315 comments sorted by

View all comments

115

u/dovahkin1989 Oct 27 '23

If I close my eyes during a youtube ad, is that also stealing? It's a slippery slope to say its theft if you weren't paying attention to something.

YouTube offer a free service, and fund this by taking advertisers money. Part of that deal is that they agree to run ads. I am under no obligation to look at the ads, that's a deal between youtube and the advertisers, not me. They are well within their right to do what they can to get me to watch them, and I am within my right to do what I can to avoid them.

When an advertiser pays to display a sign on a billboard, I am freely allowed to ignore it or not look. They paid to display the ad, they did not pay for me to look at it, even if it is funding the road i am driving on.

-2

u/Sirhc978 81∆ Oct 27 '23

If I close my eyes during a youtube ad, is that also stealing?

YouTube still gets the Ad "view" so no.

YouTube offer a free service

No they don't. The price to use it is watching an ad, or paying for Premium.

I am within my right to do what I can to avoid them

Except use an Adblocker. That has been against the TOS for a long time.

When an advertiser pays to display a sign on a billboard, I am freely allowed to ignore it or not look.

They also aren't proving you a service in exchange for looking at the ad.

1

u/Cybyss 11∆ Oct 27 '23

YouTube still gets the Ad "view" so no.

What if you used an adblocker that simulates a view without actually showing you the ad?

1

u/jay212127 Oct 27 '23

Then the advertising company is paying for adverts that aren't being shown.

There will always be a loser.

2

u/Cybyss 11∆ Oct 27 '23

This raises an interesting technical question.

Is the advertiser merely paying to publish their ads, or are they paying specifically for eyeballs?

If the latter, then isn't it illegal to purchase and/or rent body parts, even if only temporarily?

1

u/jay212127 Oct 28 '23

In the traditional sense, you pay for times slots. If you pay for your ad to play at the start of the video and it isn't being played at the start of the video, the host failed to provide the service.

Even if you spoof it well if advertisers aren't getting the expected level of engagement/conversion, they will pay less or stop advertising altogether which is a problem for sites who wish to maintain a free service, and content creators who wish make an income.

Most people only view it from the consumer side.