Two days ago, Facebook rolled out unblockable ads. Today, Adblock Plus is reporting that they’ve managed to create a workaround to counter this ad-blocker proof format.
Adblock Plus’ method of defeating Facebook’s own blocker-proof ads requires the extension to identify the non-standard indicators that Facebook is using to host ads. While a fully updated version of Adblock Plus would be able to block ads in Facebook’s sidebar and News Feed, Facebook has stated that the Adblock Plus’ attempt at blocking their ads may be flawed. For one, using Adblock Plus may also come with a side effect of blocking regular posts from friends and pages as well.
It probably isn’t too much of a stretch to say that Facebook is currently looking at ways to subvert ad blockers, and the creators of Adblock Plus are likely aware of that. Adblock Plus’ Ben Williams acknowledges that, stating that the battle between the open-source ad-blocking community and circumventers have been “going on since ad blocking was invented.” “If that happens, the ad-blocking community will likely find another workaround, then Facebook might circumvent it again,” wrote Williams in a blog post.
Source: The Verge, Adblock Plus