Ending the Ad Blocker Wars

Mar 11, 2017

11:00am – 12:00pm CT

The rise of ad blocking has sparked a fierce battle that's pitting privacy groups against publishers. Ad-blocking advocates hail the technology as helping rid the web of annoying and slow-loading ads, pervasive tracking and malware. But publishers say the technology is taking money out of their pockets and crippling their ability to produce journalism. Now, media outlets are appealing to readers to disable their blockers. Critics even suggest the software is unethical. Yet, ad blockers are proliferating. But is there a middle ground? Can publishers improve the ad experience to persuade readers to turn off blockers? Or will ad blockers bring about the end of the free web?

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

photo of Brendan Eich
Brendan Eich

Brave Software

photo of David Grant
David Grant

The Christian Science Monitor

photo of Jason Kint
Jason Kint

Digital Content Next

photo of Meredith Kopit Levien
Meredith Kopit Levien

The New York Times

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