The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Product decision · 2017–2019
BarbBlock bets DMCA threats against blocklists backfire via an automated Streisand effect
A lone developer's 2017 extension auto-blocks companies that DMCA their way off ad-block lists; Show HN drew 614 points and the list still runs in 2026
BarbBlock
What the business is
BarbBlock is a free, open-source Chrome/Firefox extension and hosted blacklist that blocks domains of companies which used DMCA takedowns or cease-and-desist letters to force their removal from other content-blocking lists; its list also feeds uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus and hosts-file users.
How it started
In August 2017 a company used a DMCA takedown request to force its domain off EasyList: the removal commit in the EasyList repository is titled "Removed due to DMCA takedown request" and deletes functionalclam.com. Users responded by adding the domain to their personal blocklists, an instance of the Streisand effect, and developer Paul Butler (paulgb) built BarbBlock to automate that reaction and create a standing disincentive for future takedown filers.
What happened
The 2017-08-12 Show HN drew 614 points and 155 comments. Butler shipped Chrome and Firefox extensions (Mozilla approved the add-on within hours, he reported in the thread), published subscribe links for uBlock Origin and Adblock Plus plus a hosts-file list, and pledged to dispute any takedown aimed at the repository. The first release blocked functionalclam.com, with additions invited through GitHub issues attaching takedown notices.
How it ended up
BarbBlock never became a company; no funding, revenue or team is disclosed in the material. As a project it survived: the Firefox add-on is still listed (version 1.5, MIT, last updated 2019-06-03), and the repository showed 644 stars and 90 commits when crawled on 2026-09-05.
Background
BarbBlock was a free browser extension and blacklist built to punish a specific abuse: companies that file DMCA takedowns or legal threats to force their own domains off ad-blocking lists. It blocked such companies automatically and published its list for Chrome, Firefox, uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus and hosts-file users. The bet was that meritless takedowns are bluffs, and that a visible, public pledge to dispute every one would make the threats stop paying off.
The project began in August 2017 after functionalclam.com, a domain belonging to a company that did not want to be blocked, disappeared from EasyList. The removal commit in the easylist/easylist repository is titled "Removed due to DMCA takedown request." The Streisand effect kicked in as users added the domain to personal lists, and developer Paul Butler built BarbBlock to automate that reaction and give the maintainer's pledge institutional form.
The 2017-08-12 Show HN drew 614 points and 155 comments, and Mozilla approved the Firefox add-on within hours. The project never formed a company; no funding, revenue or team is disclosed. It persisted: the Firefox listing (version 1.5, MIT) was last updated 2019-06-03, and as of the 2026-09-05 crawl the repository still showed 644 stars and 90 commits, with the list served from GitHub Pages.
What has to be true
- The trigger was concrete and public: a real EasyList commit titled "Removed due to DMCA takedown request," so BarbBlock could point at one named abuse instead of a vague fear.
- Automating the Streisand effect turned a one-off protest into a durable deterrent: each future legal threat would add the filer to the list rather than silence the list.
- The maintainer's pledge to dispute every takedown was the product's core asset: the list could not work if it folded under the same pressure it was built to resist.
- Publishing through Chrome, Firefox, uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus and hosts files let one person reach users through channels he did not control, with no storefront of his own required.
What can be applied
If your leverage is intimidating small maintainers, make the blowback automatic: a public pledge to fight plus a blacklist that adds offenders turns every legal threat into another reason to install.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-05 the BarbBlock repository is still online with 644 stars and 90 commits, and the README directs users to GitHub Pages-hosted install lists for uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus and hosts-file use. The Firefox add-on listing (version 1.5, last updated 2019-06-03) remains up, suggesting maintenance slowed years after launch, and the EasyList removal commit that triggered the project is still visible. Whether the pledge deterred DMCA abuse against blocklists cannot be measured from the material: no company, funding or revenue is disclosed and no user counts appear in it.
Sources
- Show HN: Extension-blocking domains removed by threat from other blacklists
- M: Removed due to DMCA takedown request — easylist/easylist commit a4d380a
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