YouTube is reportedly fighting back against its users utilizing popular ad-blocking browser extensions by forcing its videos to display error messages.
Content on the site featuring an ad that plays before the video (commonly referred to as “pre-roll ads”) now displays a message reading “an error has occurred” when viewed, with this error message lasting for a handful of seconds before the video begins playing. This issue was reported by a number of YouTube users, with the same problem not being encountered when they disable or remove their ad-blocking plug-in.
It’s uncertain how many ad-blocking extensions have been affected by this issue, though AdBlock Plus and AdBlock both present the same problem when trying to view videos that contain ads. AdBlock reached out to me on Twitter to confirm the issue, writing: “We looked into it. It seems to be on YT side, not ad blockers. We’re keeping an eye on it.”
It remains to be seen whether or not this is a mistake on YouTube’s behalf, though the site has recently displayed an urge to diminish the impact ad-blocking tools have on its financial bottom line, introducing the likes of its subscription-based YouTube Red services which asks users to pay a monthly fee to remove ads and receive access to exclusive video content.
We have reached out to YouTube for comment, and will update the story when we receive a response.
