Mozilla warns that Germany may make ad blockers illegal

A court case has resumed in Germany that could lead to a ban on ad-blocking browser extensions, Mozilla warned after a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court (BGH), BleepingComputer reports.

The case was initiated by the media company Axel Springer against Eyeo, the developer of Adblock Plus. The plaintiff claims that blockers interfere with the structure of web page execution in the browser, which should be considered a copyright infringement. This argument was previously rejected by the court in Hamburg, but the BGH found the previous decision to be partially erroneous and sent the case for retrial.

Mozilla warns that the adoption of such requirements may affect not only ad blockers, but also other extensions that change the display of pages - for example, to improve accessibility or protect privacy.

A final solution may only be a few years away, but the prospect itself is worrisome: browser developers may limit functionality, and extension authors may reduce the capabilities of their tools to avoid legal risks.