Google is going to start blocking certain ads in Chrome, the company announced earlier this year. But now we know exactly when: February 15, 2018 (via VentureBeat) is the go-live date provided by the company for introduction of its built-in enforcement of the standards established by the Coalition for Better Ads, of which it is a member.
This won’t block all ads on all websites – instead, it’ll stop those that are deemed overly annoying or intrusive. But it will be blocking all ads from sites where even one ad displayed on the site doesn’t meet those standards, even if the rest are technically in compliance.
Google has been working with publishers to make sure they’re in compliance with the new standards, in advance of the feature going live. It’s done a lot to make sure that this wasn’t sprung on anyone without warning.
It’s also hoping that by building its own ad-blocking into Chrome, it can alleviate the concerns of consumers who find intrusive ads ruin their experience, but without having them resort to using more restrictive third-party blockers that potentially cut into their own primary business – which remains selling ads.