Ad blocking poses a "similar threat" to today's online media as illegal file-sharing or pirate sites did to the music and film industry 10 years ago, the UK's culture secretary John Whittingdale warned on Wednesday.

He also said that many see the practice by adblocking companies of offering to white list advertisers as "akin to a modern day protection racket." Whittingdale was speaking at the Oxford Media Convention, where he delivered the opening keynote.

He pointed out that "in the 12 months to June last year, there was a 48 percent growth in ad-blocker use in the USA and 82 percent growth in the UK," and that mobile phone manufacturers and network companies are starting to integrate ad blockers into their services as standard. Ars has reported how the mobile carrier Three has already done so, with others considering whether to follow suit. A further sign of the times is that one new browser, Brave, places adblocking at the heart of its business model.

Whittingdale went on: "I am not suggesting that we should ban ad-blockers but I do share the concern about their impact. And I plan to host a round table with representatives from all sides of the argument to discuss this in the coming weeks."

He hoped that "self-regulation and co-operation" within the digital sector could solve the problem, but also added: "Government stands ready to help in any way we can—as long as this does not erode consumer choice." That seems to be a clear threat that legislation might be used if the online industry doesn't manage to sort things out using voluntary schemes.

Whittingdale rightly pointed out that the rise of ad blockers is partly the fault of publishers and advertisers themselves, through their use of inappropriate or intrusive advertising. He said that what consumers dislike is "online advertising that interrupts what they are doing. They don’t like video or audio that plays automatically as soon as a web page has loaded. Or pop-ups that get in the way of their browsing experience."

He could also have mentioned that people don't like the way ads can be used to infect their machines, and to track everywhere they go online either. Ben Williams, the communications and operations manager for the parent company of AdBlock Plus, told Business Insider UK: "Without ad blockers and other tools end-users would have precisely zero power over their experience on the web, online security threats (in ads these are called 'malvertising'—and they are vicious) or their own privacy."

Whittingdale said the whole advertising industry needed to get "smarter," adding: "If we can avoid the intrusive ads that consumers dislike, then I believe there should be a decrease in the use of ad-blockers." Whittingdale was hopeful that would happen, since "research also indicates that most consumers would prefer an ad-funded, free internet over a subscription model—which suggests that many consumers do understand that content isn't free."