The head of the International Advertising Bureau is no fan of ad blockers, accusing their creators of silencing free speech on the Internet.

Ad blockers are software programs that prevent ads from appearing on web sites. They have been around for years, but the software has become more popular lately, getting a boost when Apple incorporated an ad blocker into the latest version of its operating system.

Ad blockers pose a potentially huge threat to web businesses that rely on advertising for the majority—if not all—of their revenue. They are also a threat to advertisers, which is why in a recent speech IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg called the companies that make ad blockers "profiteers" who are "self-proclaimed libertarians whose liberty involves denying freedom to everyone else."

Ad-blocking companies' "technologies indiscriminately obstruct competitive pricing data, information about product features, vital political opinions, site content, user options, public-interest communications, and other intelligence necessary for the functioning of democratic capitalist societies," he said, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/1P9RK7v

Rothenberg's remarks are not the first time his organization has clashed with ad block developers. Last month, the association uninvited the creators of one of the most popular ad block programs—Adblock Plus—from its annual leadership meeting in Palm Springs, Calif.

"Sadly, if the leader of the largest advertiser trade organization does not have the cojones to allow dissenting voices to be heard, then he does so at his own peril," the company said in a blog post. "Ad industry pundits have blamed themselves for the meteoric rise of ad blocking, and some of IAB's own lieutenants have called for Rothenberg's resignation. We're beginning to see why." http://bit.ly/1VCyoMk

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