---
title: "Adblocking with a clear conscience"
date: 2023-08-22T01:43:42-07:00
replyURI: "https://nzsocial.net/@tinfoilhat/110931692229194778"
replyTitle: "do you pay to remove ads, or continue to view content while breaking the agreement with ad blocking"
replyType: "SocialMediaPosting"
replyAuthor: "tinfoilhat"
replyAuthorURI: "https://nzsocial.net/@tinfoilhat"
---

[There is no such agreement on the web](https://seirdy.one/notes/2022/08/12/user-agents-set-the-terms/):

- On the users's end, we don't have advance notice that a link destination will contain malware (such as ads). The page has already downloaded; the content is already on our device before we agreed to anything. We were handed the goods and only told they had a price after leaving the store.
- On a site owner's end, Terms of Service should not a shield to enable discrimination. ToS that discriminate against marginalized groups have historically warranted civil disobedience and lawsuits ending in legal reform that outlawed such practices; why should ToS discriminating against neurodivergent users be any different?

I have ADHD and overstimulation sensitivity. Requiring me to view ads is discriminatory. So yes, I would violate the fuck out of such a ToS with a clearer conscience than the site owners, and side with the plaintiffs should the site ever face an accessibility lawsuit.