NEW YORK (AP) — Google says its Chrome browser will block ads on websites it deems too annoying for web users starting next year.
The digital-ad giant’s announcement comes as hundreds of millions of internet users have already installed ad blockers on their desktop computers and phones to combat ads that track them and make browsing sites difficult — think pop-up ads.
These blockers threaten web publishers that rely on digital ads for revenue. Google’s version would allow ads as long as publishers followed guidelines that ban certain types of ads that consumers really hate. That includes pop-up ads, huge ads that don’t go away when you scroll down a page and video ads that start playing automatically with the sound on.