Google plans to eliminate phishing and scam popup ads.
Google will soon take a more aggressive stance when it comes to abusive advertising. Starting in December, Chrome 71 will begin filtering out all ads from websites that are frequently found displaying ads that steal personal data, begin unwanted and unexpected downloads, or redirect a user unwittingly to external sites via pop-up windows. Sites that persistently contain those types of ads, which gain clicks through deceptive practices such as fake “close” buttons or misleading warnings, will be affected by the change.
Website admins and owners will have 30 days to fix or remove ads that are flagged. After that, Chrome 71 will protect users by filtering out all ads on offending websites. The new ad filtering feature will be optional but enabled by default. Those who don’t mind seeing the offending ads can manually enable them in browser’s settings tab.
I can’t see this change coming up against too many objections since the sites that use these offending ads often rely primarily or exclusively on them. Google noted that phishing and scam sites sometimes use these methods to swipe your data.
It’s significant that the company will be stopping all ads based on the methods of a given site, not just the offending ads. Honest advertisers might have a few things to say about the change, but it appears Google is clearly hoping that site owners will adjust their advertising practices before that becomes a significant issue.
Source: Google