Only One Month Left to MozFest 2017 — Privacy & Ad blocking in the YouthZone

Hi there! My name is Judith and I’m super excited and flattered to be running a workshop at MozFest in London in the YouthZone! I work at eyeo, the company behind the ad blocker Adblock Plus and the micropayment service Flattr. On a typical day I deal with stuff like:

• What do we have to consider when we want to embed a YouTube video or want to show Instagram pics on our website?
• Can we license a tool based on an a MIT license based software under GPL v. 3.0?
• What kind of contact information do we need to publish on our webpage?

…and tons of other questions that deal with similar issues. You have probably already figured out my profile out by now. I’m a lawyer specialised in data protection, which gives me the cool title Data Protection Officer at eyeo. This probably sounds boring to your ears, but I can assure you it’s not! I’m lucky enough to be involved in almost all processes going on at eyeo. So for me as a privacy enthusiast it is fantastic to work with so many people who care so much about the question of how we can protect our personal data online.

When thinking about the functionalities of an ad blocker, the first and most obvious thing to come into one’s mind is that an ad blocker is supposed to protect the user from seeing intrusive and annoying ads. But actually an ad blocker can do way more than that! Apart from blocking ads it also protects you from the bitter side effects of ads, like hidden tracking and malware. These safety hazards through online ads perhaps lead Edward Snowden to say, “Using an adblocker is not just a right, but a duty.” This is what our session is all about: ad blocking as a privacy and security tool (and what we can do to make the ad industry better and more user friendly).

To be honest with you, I’m not one hundred percent sure yet what exactly we’re going to do. But I can tell you a few things for sure. We’ll look into how the ad industry works, why this is problematic and how, despite the tracking-mania of shops and brands, you can protect yourself.

If you are attending this year’s MozFest, drop by my session in the YouthZone! I would love to meet you and discuss data privacy with you.

Stay tuned.