A design that happens to cripple modern ad blocking and is not nearly close to being a full replacement of the existing API. Improving performance by removing features is easy. I don't think it's misrepresentation to call it crippling of said features.
The fact is that modern ads and crapware/malware web resources are a large problem that users choose to deal with by installing modern ad blockers. Even if that makes the browser somewhat slower overall, it is the ads that are the culprit, not the ad blockers. Also, anecdotally, but I find the web's performance to be vastly improved by installing uBlock Origin, as has also been noted in another comment.
It is also a fact that Google's whole business revolves around ads. Again, why wouldn't Google be mindful of ad blocking and try to prevent it from happening, with all the resources it has at its disposal? It would be bad business not to try.
Even if this particular situation isn't an example of this, I think it is irrational to think it does not and will not happen.
The fact is that modern ads and crapware/malware web resources are a large problem that users choose to deal with by installing modern ad blockers. Even if that makes the browser somewhat slower overall, it is the ads that are the culprit, not the ad blockers. Also, anecdotally, but I find the web's performance to be vastly improved by installing uBlock Origin, as has also been noted in another comment.
It is also a fact that Google's whole business revolves around ads. Again, why wouldn't Google be mindful of ad blocking and try to prevent it from happening, with all the resources it has at its disposal? It would be bad business not to try.
Even if this particular situation isn't an example of this, I think it is irrational to think it does not and will not happen.