AD company files DMCA to remove their company's URL from ad-blocking software

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,376
762
126
https://github.com/easylist/easylist/commit/a4d380ad1a3b33a0fab679a1a8c5a791321622b3

Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2017 23:06:06 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] M: Removed due to DMCA takedown request

---
easylist/easylist_adservers.txt | 1 -
1 file changed, 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/easylist/easylist_adservers.txt b/easylist/easylist_adservers.txt
index a231dc5062..a0cafc2dff 100644
--- a/easylist/easylist_adservers.txt
+++ b/easylist/easylist_adservers.txt
@@ -4875,7 +4875,6 @@
||fanaticalfly.com^$third-party
||flavordecision.com^$third-party
||foamybox.com^$third-party
-||functionalclam.com^$third-party
||ga87z2o.com^$third-party
||illustriousoatmeal.com^$third-party
||inatye.com^$third-party
I suggest everyone blacklist functionalclam.
 

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
2,108
101
91
Anyone know if there's established law on this point? Unless there's a specific provision for it in the DMCA (and if there is, I'd wonder if it were really enforceable), this seems totally bogus. What about the information sought to be removed could possibly be considered proprietary to, or protectible by, functionalclam?
 
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PeterRoss

Member
May 31, 2017
81
5
11
I do not think. Even the concept of DMCA is very conspicuous.They have some rules-ish more like guidelines and each matter is generally personalized. Also, we have our rights to privacy and security and they want to damage them with malicious ads? Until we have way more user-friendly ad guidelines with confirmed statuses, I don't think they have a right to it in any case.
 

HutchinsonJC

Senior member
Apr 15, 2007
465
201
126
I don't understand how that's even enforceable. A company's url being listed or part of some kind of blocking functionality and that company issues a DMCA against that functionality? That's about the same as issuing a DMCA to any router/firewall vendors requiring that their urls are not to be blocked.

I guess the only difference here is that the ad blocking software comes by default with urls blocked where the routers/firewalls may not.

What kind of BS precedence is this setting? lol
 

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
2,108
101
91
I don't understand how that's even enforceable. A company's url being listed or part of some kind of blocking functionality and that company issues a DMCA against that functionality?
That's what I'm wondering, it seems me a lot like a company insisting that no one can "use" their street address or published telephone number without their consent... I'm not familiar enough with DMCA takedown notices to know what a recipient's obligations are, but when I skimmed the page on Easylist's website linked earlier, it did seem like they at least believe a recipient has an obligation to honor-the-request-first-ask-questions-later, and they say they're looking into their legal options. But as I understand the DMCA, the fundamental basis of a request like that strikes me as ridiculous (or maybe even worse, depending on the actual state of the current law, very disturbing. (Legislation is a bit like software. When it comes to actually putting it into practice, it doesn't always turn out to "work" exactly the way its authors intended, and/or those voting for it expected it to...) But in general, talk about something that needs to be "repealed and replaced"<sigh> (preferably by legislators with more than 3 functional brain cells, if that's not too much to ask... :rolleyes:)
 
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PeterRoss

Member
May 31, 2017
81
5
11
Mike actually made me laugh with his last remark :D Unfortunately, I can understand that way too much. Neither laws nor the actual concept of DMCA as I have mentioned previously allow for such actions. ADBLOCK TO THE RESCUE! Even more so than ever....... Can we finally have established, normal, global laws on these subjects?
 

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
8,874
111
106
These ads are getting very annoying. Some sites will not even load properly unless you turn off the Ad Blocker ... For those, I try to avoid them unless I absolutely need that site. For me, ads take up a lot of screen space, use a lot of computer resources and slow things down somewhat. Especially while the page is still loading and it is going out to connect to like 40 links or more just to load one page. And on Yahoo Finance, sometimes you get these HUGE Banner ads running from Left to Right across the page and about an inch or two in height.
 

MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
8,722
7,824
136
If they get their way with this I guess the next step is to force all call blocking options on cell phones and land lines from blocking phone numbers.

No more blocking a phone number with trucaller app or similiar or just the service that Verizon, or your device options to block numbers.