Google Chrome will crack down on crappy video ads this August, which isnt as altruistic as it sounds

The web may soon have fewer crappy, mandatory video ads for you to endure. This August, Google’s Chrome web browser will start blocking long, “non-skippable” preroll ads, ads that block a big chunk of your video, and ads that interrupt your videos in the middle, if the video you’re watching is under eight minutes long.

That’s actually the official guidance from the Coalition for Better Ads, of which Google is a board member, and will probably impact other companies as well. Microsoft and Facebook are also on the Better Ads board.

But as excellent as it might sound to have fewer spammy web ads, it sounds like it’s not entirely an altruistic move on Google’s part. The move suggests a whole bunch of other companies will have to design ads...

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