Adblock Plus to Allow Independent Board to Decide Which Ads Are `Acceptable’

Popular ad-blocking tool Adblock Plus plans to allow an independent review board to determine whether ads qualify as “acceptable” and are allowed to pass through its filters, parent company Eyeo GmbH said. Currently, Adblock Plus allows ads from some 700 companies to pass through its filters by default, provided those ads meet its “acceptable ads” policy and aren’t too disruptive or intrusive to users. Eyeo has accepted payment from around 70 of those companies, including Google, Microsoft and Taboola, in exchange for including them in the acceptable ads program.

Eyeo’s business model has faced criticism from some in the digital media industry. Specifically, critics suggest it’s inappropriate for Eyeo itself to help decide which ads are and aren’t “acceptable,” given the fact it’s being paid by some of the companies whose ads are allowed to pass through its Adblock Plus filters. Eyeo said it now plans to form an independent board to decide what does and does not constitute “acceptable” advertising. The board will include representatives from online publishers and media companies, marketers, advertising companies and consumers. It’s expected to be in place during the first half of 2016.