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Harry Boulton
If you're sick and tired of sitting through ever-increasing adverts during YouTube videos then you might want to consider moving to this major nation, as a new law will soon make it so that every ad can be skipped after five seconds, no matter what.
It has been a long time since YouTube ads were simple pop ups you could click away from at the bottom of a video, as pre, post, and mid-roll adverts have plagued users of the leading platform for years now.
It used to be the case that you'd be able to skip a video ad within five seconds for years, but slowly viewers have been subjected to longer and longer ad breaks without the option to bypass — often in-between built-in sponsorship segments in the videos themselves.
There are, of course, a number of ways that you can get around this, as you could subscribe to YouTube Premium or download an ad blocking extension to your browser, but these aren't always cheap or convenient retrospectively, especially when watching across multiple devices.
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That's why a new law introduced in a nation with over 101 million residents could be incredibly significant, as ads shown before your videos will soon last no longer than five seconds.
As reported by Dexerto, the law will take effect in Vietnam on February 15, limiting the length at which adverts can last by either providing a skip option after five seconds, or being no longer than that time period if they're unskippable.
This won't just be limited to YouTube either, as it should affect any online platform that shows ads before or during a video, so expect this change to make viewing content on Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and others far more seamless.
There are concerns as to how it will end up affecting creators though, and it has become increasingly difficult to generate revenue through adsense on YouTube over the years and limiting the amount of time that adverts can be shown will only decrease that further.
For most big YouTuber this won't really be an issue as a large proportion rely heavily on outside partnerships and sponsorships for income as opposed to money from YouTube directly, yet this could be a real shock for any smaller creators that have large audiences in Vietnam.
Some have still highlighted issues that relying on a skip button to shorten adverts could create, as there are loopholes that could be exploited.
"Honestly, the max duration of an ad is more of a problem than if you can skip it or not," one comment on Reddit explains. "It's super annoying that there can be an hour long ad (literally) on the TV, and you have to find the remote to skip it."
If you've ever put on a YouTube while washing the dishes or during another task that takes up your hands then you'll be well aware of this frustration, as while the option to skip within five seconds remains, it doesn't stop the ad from continuing to play if you're not there to press the button.
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