Dusseldorf, Germany-based MediaBeam last month said it"s testing a product that aims to detect ad-blocking software and charge the people using it a fee to view a Web site"s content. The product, called AdKey, is scheduled for commercial release by November.
"People using anti-ad software...have the advantage to use our service but (not to) participate in the advertising system. But we need someone to pay the bill," said MediaBeam CEO Frank Beckhert, whose 15-person company has been testing AdKey for the last two weeks. "We just couldn"t accept that people were using our service for free" anymore.
Analysts said the introduction of software such as AdKey may spark a series of evasive moves by anti-ad software makers and Web publishers. As Web site operators employ software to block the blockers, ad filtering companies will most likely develop workaround solutions to the technology.
Ed English, CEO of AdSubtract maker Intermute, said other publishers have tried to block visitors who use ad filters from their sites. The technique others have used is to drop a JavaScript code on the surfer"s Web browser to detect whether all images were loaded. If not, a message pops up asking visitors not to screen out ads.
"We"ve created workarounds to such problems, so it could escalate into a cat-and-mouse game," English said. "But consumers are fed up with a lack of limits and restraints of what the online advertisers are doing."