Adblock Plus vows ‘acceptable ads’ model viable despite surprise partner withdrawal

The decision by AppNexus to pull out of a controversial ad exchange launched by Adblock Plus last week will not have a major impact on the business with executives saying advertisers will still come.

The world’s biggest ad blocker announced it would start serving “approved ads” to users, but the revelation was greeted with scepticism by many digital publishers displeased at the way in which they were being treated.

The announcement was followed almost immediately by both Google and AppNexus claiming they had not signed on to the service and that Adblock Plus partner, Combotag, which will create the platform, had made the announcement without authorisation.