YouTube is escalating its war on ad blockers, locking users' videos and issuing warnings



YouTube is escalating its war on ad blockers. While it ran a localized and experimental campaign in June, the Google-owned company recently confirmed to the Verge that it has since "launched a global effort" to either discourage users from running ad blockers on its free-to-use platform or prompt them to buy into its ad-free YouTube Premium.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, generates revenue primarily from ads. YouTube ads accounted for just under $8 billion (roughly 13%) of Google's advertising revenue in the third quarter of 2023, according to an Oct. 24 earnings release. YouTube Premium and YouTube TV appear at best to be supplemental.

Keen to protect its advertising revenue stream, which dropped in the two previous quarters, the company is working to ensure that ads are being played even if they are not being watched.

Accordingly, users with ad blockers can soon expect the platform to lock videos and confront them with a warning saying that "video playback is blocked unless YouTube is allowlisted or the ad blocker is disabled."

The new warning screen also notes, "Ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service" — an apparent reference to its prohibition on circumventing, disabling, "fraudulently engag[ing] with," and or interfering with any part of the service.

The company states on its support page, "If you use ad blockers, we'll ask you to allow ads on YouTube or sign up for YouTube Premium. If you continue to use ad blockers, we may block your video playback. To avoid the interruption, allow ads on YouTube or sign up for YouTube Premium."

Gizmodo indicated that the clampdown has evolved aggressively since early October. Initially, users with ad blockers were reportedly met with a warning they could simply disregard and close. Weeks later, users began seeing warnings requiring them to confirm receipt before being granted a timed exit. Now, there's ostensibly no way out but capitulation.

Around the time of YouTube's June experiments, Google spokesman Oluwa Falodun stated, "Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers. ... We take disabling playback very seriously and will only disable playback if viewers ignore repeated requests to allow ads on YouTube."

YouTube communications manager Christopher Lawton justified the global crackdown, telling the Verge that "ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube."

Dissidence has been growing on the YouTube subreddit, where individuals have been detailing effective ways to continue blocking ads such as uBlock Origin and NewPipe as well as threatening to swear off the platform. Tempers appear to have been exacerbated by the growing deluge of advertisements users are subjected to, with some redditors complaining of sitting through dozens of ads inside a half-hour.

In May, YouTube introduced 30-second unskippable ads in top-performing content on televisions, reported Variety. Ads are also now delivered when certain TV programs are paused. In 2020, mid-roll ads were automatically applied to videos exceeding a certain length.

AdBlocker Plus suggested last month that users confronted with YouTube's anti-ad-block wall should keep their filter lists up to date; use custom blocking rules; use their browser's private browsing mode; and, if all else fails, bite the bullet and consider adding YouTube to their allowlists.

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FBI offers $40,000 reward for info on another US citizen kidnapped in Mexico; eye-opening report shows over 550 Americans are missing in Mexico



The FBI has offered a $40,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of an American woman who was reportedly kidnapped in Mexico. The woman is the latest U.S. citizen who has gone missing in Mexico.

Monica de Leon Barba, 29, was last seen on Nov. 29, 2022, walking her dog home from work in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico.

CBS News reported, "De Leon was headed to a gym between 5-6 p.m. called Fit 4 Life in the Guadalupe Fraction when she was forced into a van 'leaving the poor puppy alone in the street,' her family and friends said on a community Facebook page dedicated to finding the missing woman."

U.S. officials believe that de Leon Barba was kidnapped.

An FBI San Francisco spokesperson told NBC News, "We believe that Monica is alive, but we don’t know where she is. After Monica was kidnapped, her family found her dog on the street and safely recovered the dog."

The FBI is offering $40,000 for information leading to the recovery of De Leon Barba. She is a native of San Mateo County in California and stands at 5' 7" and weighs 240 pounds, according to the FBI.

The FBI San Francisco field office wrote on Twitter, "You can submit a tip online at http://tips.fbi.gov, or call the FBI's Toll-Free tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)."

\u201c#BREAKING: The #FBI is offering a reward of up to $40K for information leading to the recovery of Monica de Leon Barba, a U.S. citizen who was kidnapped in Tepatitl\u00e1n, Jalisco, Mexico, while walking her dog on November 29, 2022. \nhttps://t.co/grAeejsUPv\u201d
— FBI SanFrancisco (@FBI SanFrancisco) 1680192937

The missing woman's brother, Gustavo de Leon, said, "I can't help but think of the absolute fear and agony she has faced for the last 121 days."

U.S. officials have not said if they have any suspects in the purported kidnapping.

Former Western District of Texas U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte noted that kidnappings are the "bread and butter" of Mexican drug cartels and part of their "culture."

Almonte added, "It's getting worse because the Mexican government can not get control of the cartels. The U.S. is going to get the brunt of that."

This is the third time in the past month that the FBI has offered a reward for information on Americans who went missing in Mexico.

Last month, four U.S. citizens were violently kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros, Mexico. The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for the information on the kidnapped Americans. Two of the U.S. citizens were killed.

In mid-March, the FBI offered $20,000 for information about the disappearance of a 63-year-old American woman. Maria del Carmen Lopez was kidnapped from her home in Pueblo Nuevo, a municipality in the southwestern Mexican state of Colima.

In March, the Washington Post reported, "More than 550 Americans are reported as missing in Mexico, a little-known facet of a broader tragedy that has honeycombed this country with mass graves."

The outlet added, "Soaring violence and government dysfunction have fueled a crisis that’s left at least 112,150 people missing, according to government records here."

The U.S. State Department has warned Americans not to travel to the Mexican states of Colima, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas due to the increased risk of crime and kidnapping.

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FBI offers up to  $25,000 reward for 'Chesapeake Bandits' responsible for series of armored car robberies



The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information on the "Chesapeake Bandits," a group responsible for a series of armored car robberies.

"In some of the instances, defendants Hobson and his half brother Davis were observed casing the victims weeks in advance of the robberies," U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said at a news conference at the FBI’s Los Angeles headquarters in Westwood, KABC reported Saturday.

The Chesapeake Bandits are so named because investigators believe they hatched their plans from a home on Chesapeake Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.

They have reportedly been robbing Brinks armored vehicles from February 2022 to February 2023, and have made off with $500,000 so far in five armed heists.

Authorities nabbed one of the alleged ringleaders, 36-year-old Deneyvous Hobson, February 21. The second ringleader, 34-year-old James Russell Davis, is still on the loose, as are five others believed to be part of the group, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division is working with investigators from other agencies to suss out the identities of others involved in the daylight robberies, according to the Times.
Both Hobson and Davis are charged with robbery and conspiracy charges. Davis, the suspected ring leader who is still at large, may be using aliases including "Pudda," "Budah," and "Rozay," according to the FBI. The FBI says he has recently been seen driving a white 2015 Lexus GS 350 sedan, a black 2020 Chevrolet Blazer, and a white 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Davis is known to be affiliated with the West Blvd. Crips. The Crips are a notorious street gang based in Los Angeles.

"The defendants in this case and the other co-conspirators are heavily armed and pointed their weapons at the victims," Estrada also said.

The group allegedly operate by "overtaking the armored car drivers when they service drive-thru ATMs or exit businesses," according to the FBI.

"They zip tie the driver while holding them at gunpoint, enter the armored vehicle, and steal the money," the FBI also says, adding that on on occasion, a shot was fired, but no one was injured.

The FBI warns that the individuals should be considered armed and dangerous. They encourage anyone with information to contact the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Other contact options include local FBI offices, the nearest American embassy or consulate, or using online tip submission at tips.fib.gov.

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New York mayor-elect and his choice for NYPD commissioner appeared at press conference in front of a mural that includes convicted murderer Assata Shakur



At a news conference on Wednesday, New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams and Keechant Sewell, the woman he has selected to serve as police commissioner, appeared in front of a mural that included depictions of several figures, including Assata Shakur, according to Newsday.

The FBI says that Assata Shakur is one of multiple aliases for Joanne Deborah Chesimard, who was convicted of murder, but escaped from prison.

Eric Adams\u2019 new NYPD commissioner is being appointed in front of a mural featuring Malcolm X, Nat Turner, Angela Davis, Huey Newton and Assata Shakur.pic.twitter.com/TshnCS3U31
— Matthew Chayes (@Matthew Chayes) 1639576898

According to the FBI, Chesimard and two other individuals were stopped by authorities for a motor vehicle violation in 1973, but they shot at the officers.

"At the time, Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery. Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One trooper was wounded and the other was shot and killed execution-style at point-blank range. Chesimard fled the scene, but was subsequently apprehended. One of her accomplices was killed in the shoot-out and the other was also apprehended and remains in jail," the FBI notes.

"In 1977, Chesimard was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a weapon, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison. On November 2, 1979, Chesimard escaped from prison and lived underground before being located in Cuba in 1984. She is thought to currently still be living in Cuba," according to the FBI.

The news conference was located at Queensbridge Houses. Sewell lived there for several years during her childhood, according to the New York Daily News.

Sewell will make history as the first woman to serve as NYPD commissioner.