The internet ecosystem may exist thanks in large part to the revenue ads generate, but most users would probably still agree: ads are annoying. That’s especially true in the cases of those pesky ads that just don’t want to let you close them – the ones that don’t feature an obvious X to close them out or the ones where the X doesn’t close the ad and instead takes you to another site. But that kind of online advertisement may soon be illegal in China.
Yesterday, the microblog account of Chinese state wire service Xinhua news posted information about a planned change to internet advertising law in the Middle Kingdom. The new regulations stipulate that advertisements on web sites the obscure content (like popups), “should feature an obvious ‘close’ indicator, and should be closable with a single click.”
The idea behind the changes is to ensure that China’s web users have a more predictable, uninterrupted browsing experience without eliminating ads or the online advertising market. The changes aren’t likely to affect most Chinese internet companies at all, as ads on most major sites already follow the protocol of having an obvious, one-click-required close button. But assuming they’re properly enforced, the changed regulations should affect less scrupulous advertisers who interrupt the online user experience with misleading or difficult-to-close advertisements.
See: Two college drop-outs built an app that fights banner ad blindness, and it just got funded
(Source: Techweb)
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