YouTube is intensifying its crackdown on ad blockers. The platform’s communications manager, Christopher Lawton, stated that they have initiated a global campaign to encourage users to allow ads or try YouTube Premium, according to The Verge.
If you encounter YouTube’s ad blocker restrictions, you will come across a notification stating, “Video playback will be blocked unless YouTube is allowlisted or the ad blocker is disabled.” It also offers an option to enable ads or try out YouTube Premium.
In June 2023, YouTube initially disabled videos for users employing ad blockers, but Lawton characterised it as a “small experiment globally” at the time.
However, this effort has now been expanded. In recent weeks, more users with ad blockers installed have found themselves unable to access YouTube videos.
In Malaysia, some users have already encountered this warning, according to this Reddit post.
Lawton asserts that the “use of ad blockers” breaches the platform’s terms of service and emphasises that “ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube.”
