{"id":13154,"date":"2025-08-18T11:03:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T18:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=13154"},"modified":"2025-08-18T11:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T18:09:05","slug":"mozilla-warns-germany-could-soon-declare-ad-blockers-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/mozilla-warns-germany-could-soon-declare-ad-blockers-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Mozilla Warns Germany Could Soon Declare Ad Blockers Illegal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is interesting, and might be a indication of where things are headed. I use uMatrix and uBlock Origin<\/a> along with DNS blocking of ad, telemetry and malware sites<\/a>. And uMatrix is neat because you have fine grained control of what elements and sites load with a webpage, and you get to see what a mess modern websites are with so much about tracking you and building you data profile to sell. Of course, the goal is also to have AI agents spy on everything, so this could all be a misdirection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bleepingcomputer.com\/news\/legal\/mozilla-warns-germany-could-soon-declare-ad-blockers-illegal\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By Bill Toulas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mozilla<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A recent ruling from Germany\u2019s Federal Supreme Court (BGH) has revived a legal battle over whether browser-based ad blockers infringe copyright, raising fears about a potential ban of the tools in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case stems from online media company Axel Springer\u2019s lawsuit against Eyeo – the maker of the popular Adblock Plus browser extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axel Springer says that ad blockers threaten its revenue generation model and frames website execution inside web browsers as a copyright violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is grounded in the assertion that a website\u2019s HTML\/CSS is a protected computer program that an ad blocker intervenes in the in-memory execution structures (DOM, CSSOM, rendering tree), this constituting unlawful reproduction and modification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, this claim was rejected by a lower-level court in Hamburg, but a new ruling by the BGH found the earlier dismissal flawed and overturned part of the appeal, sending the case back for examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mozilla\u2019s Senior IP & Product Counsel, Daniel Nazer, delivered a warning last week, noting that due to the underlying technical background of the legal dispute, the ban could also impact other browser extensions and hinder users’ choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many reasons, in addition to ad blocking, that users might want their browser or a browser extension to alter a webpage,\u201d Nazer<\/a> says<\/a>, explaining that some causes could stem from the need “to improve accessibility, to evaluate accessibility, or to protect privacy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per BGH\u2019s ruling, Springer\u2019s argument needs to be re-examined to determine if DOM, CSS, and bytecode count as a protected computer program and whether the ad blocker’s moodifications are lawful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt cannot be excluded that the bytecode, or the code generated from it, is protected as a computer program, and that the ad blocker, through modification or modifying reproduction, infringed the exclusive right thereto,\u201d reads BGH\u2019s statement<\/a> (automated translation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ad blockers haven\u2019t been outlawed, Springer\u2019s case has been revived now, and there\u2019s a real possibility that things may take a different turn this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mozilla noted that the new proceedings could take up to a couple of years to reach a final conclusion. As the core issue is not settled, there is a future risk of extension developers to be held liable for financial losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mozilla explains that, in the meantime, the situation could cause a chilling effect on browser users\u2019 freedom, with browser developers locking down their apps further, and extension developers limiting the functionality of their tools to avoid legal troubles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is interesting, and might be a indication of where things are headed. I use uMatrix and uBlock Origin along with DNS blocking of ad, telemetry and malware sites. And uMatrix is neat because you have fine grained control of what elements and sites load with a webpage, and you get to see what a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13154"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13157,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13154\/revisions\/13157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}