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German Newspaper Sues Makers of iOS Ad Blocker

Alex Springer goes after Blockr in court

Nov 24, 2015 12:35 GMT  ·  By
iOS is the first to bring support for content blockers
   iOS is the first to bring support for content blockers

German media conglomerate Axel Springer, which owns newspapers such as Die Welt and Bild, has filed a legal complaint against the developer of Blockr, an iOS application that allows iPhone and iPad owners to block ads in the browser.

Apple enabled content blockers in iOS 9, and applications such as Blockr can be integrated directly into Safari browser, with the Apple Store now providing access to both freeware and shareware applications that come with more or less advanced such filters.

Blockr is currently one of the most popular applications on iOS 9, but Axel Springer hopes the judge would order the company behind this project to stop development and distribution. According to a report by TechCrunch, in a court hearing on November 19, Blockr makers had already defended their case by explaining that their application is optional, and users must manually get it from the store.

Moreover, they explained that Blockr is a legal app, and it doesn’t infringe any laws, adding that, if they want, Axel Springer has ways to get around the ad blocker. They can restrict access to the website or launch no-ad subscription services that would be available to customers.

“Axel Springer SE is demonstrating its position regarding ad blocking in various legal initiatives: Ad blocking interferes with the constitutionally protected position of publishing houses and endangers the refinancing­ - and hence, in the long run, the existence - ­of professional online journalism. We are currently not commenting on the number and status of ongoing legal proceedings,” the German media corporation told the aforementioned source.

Previous legal actions

This isn’t the first time Axel Springer goes to court against an ad blocking company, but it seems like they keep trying and trying until they get a ruling in their favor.

Previously, the German company sued Eyeo, the company behind AdBlock Plus, which is currently one of the leading ad blockers on the market. A German judge, however, ruled that AdBlock Plus didn’t infringe any laws or competition laws.

In the meantime, Axel Springer switched to a subscription-based service for those who wanted to keep ad blockers on. Since then, the company says, the number of those who have removed their ad blockers has dropped from 23 percent to less than 10 percent.