Google's anti-ad scripts are breaking browsers and privacy plugins. It could get worse because Google controls the ad market, Chrome, and the extension store.

Another great article from 404 Media highlighting the power that the tech giants have amassed over how how we use the internet.

This brings me, I think, to the elephant in the room, which is the fact that Google has its hands on quite literally every aspect of this entire saga as a vertically integrated adtech giant.

This extreme power over the adtech and online advertising ecosystem is one of the subjects of an FTC antitrust suit against Google.

  • Nougat
    10•8 months ago

    YouTube was originally free, and without video ads. It remained so for some time after Google bought it. They can operate YouTube without video ads at all.

    • @wildn0x@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21•8 months ago

      YouTube lived off venture capital, search sponsorships, and content hosting. Venture capital is long dried up. Search sponsorships are just advertisements but clogging your searches. Content hosting isn’t really needed anymore since every large media company has their own streaming platform. Lot has changed since 2006.

    • Norgur
      9•8 months ago

      What?! Have you checked how big a 4k video is lately? Where do you suppose the money for that should come from?