Criteo Sinks As Pending iPhone Adblocker Gets Noticed

Criteo SA (ADR) CRTO shares plunged as pending software for blocking mobile advertising on Apple Inc. AAPL's Safari browser was highlighted in a recent report.

The new tool "would block advertising and associated tracking technologies on the iPhone's browser for the first time" according to the Financial Times' report.

Criteo's Vulnerability

Criteo, a digital advertising company based in Paris – with 2014 revenue of about $845 million, has acknowledged that it's vulnerable to potential changes to major browsers and mobile operating systems.

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For example, Criteo says, if Apple were to restrict use of its so-called Identifier for Advertising mobile feature, "We will not be able to serve personalized advertisements on mobile applications running on the Apple operating system," Criteo said in its annual report in March.

Financial Times Spurs Chatter

The Safari update was highlighted in recent documentation for developers, but apparently obtained little notice until the Financial Times article appeared.

The Times noted a blog post Wednesday by Nieman Journalism Lab Director Joshua Benton, who said the adblocker could cut revenue for news publishers.

"An Apple cynic might note that the company on Monday unveiled its new News app, which promises a beautiful reading experience — and a monetization model based on Apple's iAds," Benton wrote.

Apple's ads "will, one can assume, never be blockable by third-party extensions available in the App Store," according to Benton.

Criteo changed hands recently at $45.06, down $5.62.