No one likes to view ads, and for YouTube users that don’t want to pay for the platform, the experience is starting to feel less like that of a free service.
YouTube ads weren’t always unbearable. However, what started out as short and simple skippable segments has turned into multiple mid-roll interruptions, lengthy ads, and even unskippable segments.
Users that are unwilling to pay for YouTube Premium have found other ways to avoid ads, including using ad-blockers, alternative apps, and even refreshing ad segments until a shorter one appears. However, not everyone has the technical savvy (or the patience) to circumvent ads.
Vietnam seems to be one of them, as it has just decided to tighten regulations around online advertising. As reported by VietnamNews, via Android Authority, the country is stepping in to put a cap on how long an ad can run without a skip button on it.
The 5-second mandate
The development comes under a new government mandate (Decree 342/2025), which lists new rules for online advertisers. One of the rules, which applies to YouTube, in addition to other online platforms, mandates that all video or animated ads must become skippable after a maximum of five seconds.
The new rule kicks in starting February 15, and also applies to static advertisements, where users need to wait a certain number of seconds before an ‘x’ to close the advertisement appears.
The change should make YouTube a lot more usable for users, albeit only in Vietnam for now. It should bring back balance to the platform. We understand that ads are important to keep the platform up and running, and they’re the only way creators make money off of non-paying users. However, lengthy unskippable segments, often with back-to-back ads, clearly isn’t the way to go.
It remains to be seen whether global regulators will follow suit.
Would you be willing to drop your Premium subscription or other ad-skipping alternatives if all YouTube ads were only 5-seconds-long? Let us know in the comments below.
