A court in Hamburg has ruled that it is legal to block online advertisements, resulting in an array of media organisations, Holtzbrinck , Handelsblatt and Adblock Plus to name a few, losing lawsuits against Adblock Plus . Head of operations at Adblock Plus , Spiegel Online , called the ruling "another victory for consumers and ad-blocking providers". Ad-blocking is reportedly gaining greater popularity in Hamburg , with Spiegel Online stating some 25 percent of its readership blocks ads on its website.
A court in Hamburg has ruled that it is legal to block online advertisements, resulting in an array of media organisations, Holtzbrinck, Axel-Springer-Verlag and Handelsblatt to name a few, losing lawsuits against Adblock Plus. Head of operations at Adblock Plus, Ben Williams, called the ruling "another victory for consumers and ad-blocking providers". Ad-blocking is reportedly gaining greater popularity in Germany, with Spiegel Online stating 25% of its readership blocks ads on its website.