Adblock Plus Parent Acquires Flattr, Swedish-Based Microdonation Provider

Flattr, which lets users send microdonations to online content creators, was acquired by Adblock Plus parent eyeo, Adblock said in a Wednesday news release and blog post. It's seen as the next step after the two companies last year collaborated on overhauling Flattr's micropayment service, allowing users to pay for content with a single account. Sweden-based Flattr said it paid 30,000 online content creators and publishers since it was created in 2010. "Constructive ad blocking and Flattr complete eyeo’s vision of putting users in control of an internet that is fair and still profitable,” said eyeo founder Till Faida. "This allows us to go that extra mile and finalize our vision of enabling hundreds of millions of users to choose how they want to pay for the content they consume." Eyeo, based in Germany, was heavily criticized by the marketing industry and others claiming they have to pay Adblock Plus to white list ads, amounting to a shakedown (see 1605260040, 1605270001 and 1609090057).