I've read the EasyList forum thread linked above for the AutoTrader site, and the issue there was indeed a generic rule that just breaks every link containing advert. That is some monumental, unfathomable stupidity. And instead of realizing that, they have the gall to refer to that rule existing for a very long time!

The same issue was seen with Spamhaus and similar IP block services for eMail spam. What were selfless intentions quickly morphed into ineffective, power-crazed gatekeepers and extortion artists that have made SMTP an unusable protocol unless you are Google or Amazon.