YouTube isn’t okay with video ad blocker detection, nor is YouTube allowed to show it publicly: A European Commission response to Breyer
As YouTube tightens its restrictions on ad blockers, privacy advocates in the European Union are betting that government regulations can put a stop to the crackdown.
While YouTube started blocking ad blockers as a “small experiment” in June, YouTube later confirmed to The Verge that the company has ramped up its efforts. That means more users with ad blockers enabled are finding themselves unable to watch videos on the platform. Instead of showing the video, the prompt on the side tells users to either allow or subscribe to ads on YouTube.
On November 6, German Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer addressed Hanff’s claim to the European Commission, formally requesting a legal position as to whether “protection of information stored on the device (Article 5(3) ePR) also cover information as to whether the user’s device hides or blocks certain page elements, or whether ad-blocking software is used on the device” and—critically—if this kind of detection is “absolutely necessary to provide a service such as YouTube.”
Hanff’s most recent complaint to the commission references his earlier letter. The DPC is called upon to stopYouTube from using ad blocker detection tools. Hanff tells The Verge that he thinks it’s a violation of the fundamental right to privacy under the UN Declaration of Human Rights and other conventions. Hanff stated that the Irish DPC has acknowledged his complaint and that he has had a number of emails exchanged with them. The DPC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.
“The script that [YouTube] deploys is detecting what software people are running on their machines or what behaviour their browser is exhibiting in relation to their private activities. It isn’t okay. Hanff claims that it’s illegal. We have a right to privacy according to the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. We have a fundamental right to data protection under Article 8.”