On The Regulation Of Online Ad-blocking

Nowadays,with the rapid development of the commodity economy,we are surrounded by all kinds of advertisements,especially in the online world,more and more ads come with free services pervasively,which brings a lot of problems concerning security and privacy to network users.Software that can block different kinds of commercial ads came into being to meet the needs of network users,while improving the users' online experience,it also causes ads that advertisers place on the websites cannot be browsed or clicked,which would reduce the advertising revenue of website operators to a certain extent.In order to recover the losses,these operators filed lawsuits against providers of ad-blocking software on the grounds of violating the anti-unfair competition law,and almost all the courts judged that ad-blocking constituted unfair competition.In this regard,this paper will focus on the regulation of online ad-blocking services based on the relevant provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.This paper can be divided into three main parts,the first part is the introduction,the second part is the main body which includes four chapters,and the last part is the conclusion.The first chapter studies the legal relationship involved in the online ad-blocking service firstly.By sorting out the relationship between the website operators,network users,advertisers and ad-blocking service providers,we can find that between the website operators and the ad-blocking service providers is an infringement relationship.Secondly,it analyzes the nature of ad-blocking.By arguing three different theories,we can conclude that ad-blocking should not be regulated by tort law,but should be subject to articles stipulated in anti-unfair competition law.The second chapter is mainly about how China's anti-unfair competition law regulates online ad-blocking.Firstly,it discusses the application of relevant provisions in anti-unfair competition law.When the specific rules of Chapter 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law cannot be applied first,the general provision will play its role of filling in the loopholes of the law and regulate new competitive behaviors in the market.Finally,by exploring the specific meanings of these abstract principles such as “honesty and good faith” and “business ethics”,we can clarify the approach that courts use to crystallize the general provision.The third chapter mainly analyzes the status and problems of judgment involving online ad-blocking.First of all,this chapter analyzes whether there is a competitive relationship between the website operator and the ad-blocking service provider.By distinguishing between competitive relationship in the narrow sense and in the broad sense,we can conclude that under the new Internet economy model,the shackles of the traditional concept that “whether or not there is a competitive relationship is the precondition for determining whether the behavior constitutes unfair competition”should be broken.Secondly,it clearly puts forward the irrationality of the protection of “Legitimate Business Model”.The judiciary should return to the multi-interest measurement model.In addition,the “Do Not Interfere For Non-Public Interest”principle unduly restrict the business scope of competitors and does not conform to the principles of competition.The fourth chapter puts forward the path that can be taken by the courts in China to test the legitimacy of online ad-blocking based on the typical relevant jurisprudence outside the domain.First of all,this chapter selects classic cases involving online ad-blocking decided by German and US courts,and deeply explores the application of the law and the approach of balancing of interests.Then,by applying the principle of proportionality and its three sub-principles,the general provision of Anti-Unfair Competition Law can be crystallized,and the legitimacy of online ad-blocking can be reasonably judged from the perspective of consumer protection.In conclusion,the key to determining unfair competition in general clause is to comprehensively measure the three benefits of public interest,operator's benefits and consumer's interests.