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