I couldn't disagree more. I don't think using an ad-blocker is piracy, though some traits and behaviors may seem similar on the surface level.

Online advertisements pose significant security and privacy risks that ad blocking can mitigate. Malware delivered through ads is unfortunately common, endangering unsuspecting users who click on infected ads. Even reputable sites like The New York Times and BBC have inadvertently run malicious ads. Ad blocking provides essential protection against these threats.

Advertising trackers also profile user behavior without consent to target ads. Users should have the right to block this non-consensual data collection, as recognized by privacy laws like GDPR. Ad blocking enables users to exercise those rights.

While ads do fund free content, users have no implicit agreement to view ads in exchange. Sites provide content regardless of whether users see ads. If sites truly considered ad blocking to be piracy, they could easily block access to ad block users. Instead, most sites tacitly consent to ad blocking by allowing ad block users to still access content.