German Court Upholds Legality of Ad-Blocking Software

Making software available to block advertising online is not illegal, a German court ruled, in a judgment that poses a challenge to the revenues of global media groups. The operation of a “whitelist” of acceptable ads that are allowed through adblocking filters in exchange for a fee -- a business model that media groups have likened to “extortion” -- is also not in breach of the law, Munich’s district court ruled.