Start-up vies to skirt ad blockers

A former Google chief is aiming to do what his old employer is finding virtually impossible by launching a firm that will develop a program to break through ad-blocking software.
Ben Barokas, who was until recently general manager of marketplace development for Google, launched the new venture – Sourcepoint – this week, with $10m funding from investors.
It is estimated Google has lost up to $6.6bn in revenue due to the use of ad-blockers in the past year alone.
“The publishers we’re working with recognise they’re facing an existential crisis,” said Barokas, amid claims that his technology that will offer “greater flexibility” in how advertisers will be able to smash through the blockers.
“While users have the legal right to strip out the advertising from web pages, publishers also have the right to prevent users from accessing their content if they modify the web page,” said Barokas.
Another service Barokas offers is a simple option to let users pay to dispense with the advertising completely.
He says 22 publishers are already on his books, but will not yet name who they are.
A recent study by Adobe suggested that 5% of online users now employ ad-blocking software as standard.