To be fair if all ads were as unobtrusive as Google's we wouldn't have a problem.

I think the fundamental issue is that Google's ads are more valuable (because they can target them really well - they literally know what you are looking for), so they don't need to be as obtrusive.

If you just visit a random news site they don't really know what ads to show you (which I guess is why they are more like TV ads - for cars, perfume, etc.) and those adverts are far more speculative and worth less, so they need to be much more obtrusive to earn the same money.

There are more issues than just being unobtrusive. Ads are used to spread malware and that happens even on popular, vetted networks. For example https://www.businessinsider.com.au/android-malware-spreads-u...

Even if some simple ads could be tolerated, the distribution networks failed. Not even Google can be trusted to show approved, nice ads. They either need a massive change, or they will be blocked completely.

> To be fair if all ads were as unobtrusive as Google's we wouldn't have a problem.

Youtube ads are about as intrusive as ads can get, short of bikini-clad flashing popups.

> ... as unobtrusive as Google's we wouldn't have a problem.

I don't seem to understand which "problem" you are referring to exactly?

The one installing an ad block plugin solves.

It seems in this thread people think the vast majority are mainly against ads because of privacy rather than inconvenience.

I think the claim that the "vast majority" are against ads because of privacy is questionable at best. HN is not a good representation of the concerns of the "vast majority". I don't have any data either but my guess is that the average ad blocker user installs an ad blocker because the ads are annoying, not because of privacy. That's not to say that the privacy concerns aren't legitimate or that more people shouldn't be aware of the privacy concerns, but I just don't think that's the reality of why most people use ad blockers today.

If ads become less intrusive and annoying less people will use an ad blocker, but there would still be a market for the privacy conscious who block ads for privacy rather than convenience.

Disclaimer: I work at Google, I don't work on ads or Chrome, I do use ad blockers, my opinions are my own, etc.

Yeah, the first lawsuits are already warming up, but that might take years still. Plenty time for any competition to die off and then Google pays some one-time fee and gets to keep the monopoly.

Any realistic attempt at a lawsuit here would start with a request for injunction to force Google to temporarily remove this feature.

Did you honestly expect anything else?