In June, YouTube initially introduced a “small experiment” worldwide, encouraging a small group of users employing ad blockers to deactivate them for access to content on the platform.
This experiment has now evolved into a full-scale global crackdown. YouTube is actively taking measures to combat ad blockers and is prompting users to either enable ads or subscribe to YouTube Premium, which offers an ad-free experience.
This information is sourced directly from YouTube’s communications manager, Christopher Lawton. When encountering YouTube’s ad blocker block, you will see a message similar to the one depicted in the screenshot above. The critical point here is: “Video playback is blocked unless YouTube is allowed or the ad blocker is disabled.”
As anticipated, you have two options: permitting ads or exploring YouTube Premium, and there are no other alternatives. The gradual expansion of YouTube’s measures against ad blockers has taken place over the past few weeks.
This crackdown reached Pakistan weeks ago, with users constantly seeing the message above until they turned their ad blocker off. However, it doesn’t force you to turn it off straight away. The prompt appears a few times before finally giving you a countdown to 3. After that, you are finally forced to turn your ad blocker off. Users have also been seeing a lot more ads than before.
According to Lawton, the use of ad blockers is in violation of the platform’s terms of service. “Ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube,” he explained.
