The Financial Times reported that British media groups have warned Apple against moving forward with its plan to block ads on news sites using a new tool that has not yet been announced.
Any action by Apple to provide ad blockers “could threaten the financial viability of journalism,” the groups said in a statement.
Many newspaper websites use advertising as one of their main sources of income. In addition to regular subscriptions, some offer their subscribers the ability to remove ads for a distraction-free browsing experience.
According to recent reports, Apple is planning to add new features to its Safari browser, including a tool called “Web Eraser” that will allow users to remove unwanted elements like ads, images, and videos from web pages. Any changes made by the user to the Website will be automatically applied each time you visit this Website.
Safari is the default internet browser on Apple devices and the second most used browser globally after Google Chrome.
The Financial Times said it had expressed concern in a letter to the UK News Media Association (NMA) about the impact of the planned launch of the tool on online news revenues, highlighting that many publishers rely on advertising as their main source. reliant. Of income. Head of British Government Affairs at Apple.
The NMA has raised concerns about the integration of AI tools into website browsing experiences. This is because they can specifically delete or modify article content without the user's knowledge.
Apple plans to announce new features of its operating system at its WWDC 2024 developer conference scheduled for early June next year.