The world’s leading news publishers are calling for an international task force to respond to the increasing use of ad blocking technology, and for the adoption of online advertising principles and guidelines that respect users and help sustain independent news publishing as an essential component of a democratic society.
“The growing use of ad blocking software by internet and mobile users around the world is severely jeopardizing the digital advertising ecosystem, but they also threaten the open web in open societies,” said the publishers during the meeting of an international task force convened by the Wan-Ifra in Paris on 11 December.
The task force comprising publishers in Europe, North America and Asia and supported by the Wan-Ifra will operate as a knowledge centre for publishers to share best practices, and facilitate discussion among other international trade bodies and stakeholders. It will act as a unifying voice, with the task of supporting the industry on both global and local levels.
The significant rise in ad blocking over the past year has highlighted a substantial threat to advertising revenue for news sites, both on desktop and mobile. This has become a technical, legal and PR battleground in recent months for European and US publishers. The Wan-Ifra initiative addresses the need for global coordination to address the threat to news publishers’ capacity to provide the independent and credible news that is crucial to open societies.
Publishers have a renewed opportunity to redefine how advertising works, and save the mechanism of advertising that supports content on the open web. The Wan-Ifra initiative is an invitation to all publishers to join the global discussion on principles for the future environment for sustainable, unobtrusive advertising that respects users and sustains the future of news publishing.
Members of the task force believe there is a need for the global community of news publishers to collect and share best practices and member case studies that have relevance to different market situations; monitor national initiatives addressing ad blocking. These will form the basis for advice and resources for the wider publishing community; determine which other industry and consumer bodies Wan-Ifra should align itself with; define the form and objectives for such collaborations, and express the views of news publishers in highlevel industry discussions on the development of new user-friendly ad units and related initiatives; exchange ideas on common principles for a user-friendly ad experience that support a sustainable digital news ecosystem; and promote constructive actions within the industry to educate clients and agencies and build loyalty and trust among users.
