The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) has lodged a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and requested an investigation into what it claims are deceptive ad-blocking technologies that mislead consumers. In its complaint, which was filed on behalf of the National Advertising Division in Washington, D.C., the NAA says that Google is using “deceptively marketed technology” to prevent people from seeing ads they want The NAA has asked the FTC to focus its attention on ad-blocking companies that have implemented business models that deceive consumers and thereby, negatively affect their user experience.
The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) has lodged a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and requested an investigation into what it claims are deceptive ad-blocking technologies that mislead consumers. The Association asserts that certain ad-blockers contravene Section 5 of the FTC Act regarding unfair business practices because they trick consumers into thinking that publishers have agreed to the substitution of existing ads with the ad-blockers' own advertising whereas the reality is very different. The NAA has asked the FTC to focus its attention on ad-blocking companies that have implemented business models that deceive consumers and thereby, negatively affect their user experience.