German Supreme Court declares Adblock Plus legal

The German Bundesgerichtshof has ruled that Adblock Plus’ company Eyeo does not break the law with its service to block internet advertisements. It is also legal to allow advertisements to pass through against payment.

The ruling of the Supreme Court is therefore in favor of Eyeo and against the publisher Axel Springer, who has brought the case. The ruling means that blocking internet advertising is allowed in Germany and that services can make money from blacklisting advertisers for money.

According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, Axel Springer found that Eyeo was guilty of unfair competition, invoking Section 4a of the German Competition Act, and illegal aggressive business practices, but the Supreme Court did not agree. Axel Springer started the case in 2014, but the Cologne court ruled against him.

The publisher appealed and the Cologne Oberlandesgericht also found that the blocking of advertisements did not hinder competition, but the appeal judge ruled Eyeo’s ‘aggressive market practices’ regarding the passage of advertisements for a fee as illegal. The Supreme Court’s verdict is now different. Eyeo has always stated that the purpose of whitelisting is to encourage the use of better quality ads as part of its Acceptable Ads platform.

Several parties have filed cases in Germany against Adblock Plus, but Eyeo has won it so far.