A group of French websites including those of radio stations, TV stations and newspapers will ban adblock users for a week. Users with such software installed are asked to whitelist the affected site or to turn off their adblocker. If they don't, access to the website is denied in most cases.
The campaign is an initiative of the trade association 'Geste' to remind users that content and services aren't free and the importance of advertising as a revenue source. Many publishers are concerned about the increasing popularity of adblockers because it has a negative effect on their advertising revenue.
Also the French music streaming service 'Deezer', the main competitor of Spotify, takes part. Adblock users on the website of the newspaper 'Le Monde' can still read articles and only see a notice. Other newspapers like Le Parisien and L'Equipe are less friendly, they totally deny access to adblock users.
Nearly 30% of French internet users use adblock software, according to a survey published by research firm Ipsos.
