Jason KoeblerNov 20, 2023

New: Firefox users have reported an "artificial" 5-second delay when they try to load YouTube videos that is magically fixed if they use Chrome, which has been going viral in a few different places. I asked Google what is going on. They

1) Didn't deny the artificial wait time is happening
2) Said it's part of its war on ad blockers, not targeted at Firefox

Mozilla also told me no indication this is targeted at Firefox

https://www.404media.co/youtube-says-new-5-second-video-load-delay-is-supposed-to-punish-ad-blockers-not-firefox-users/

YouTube Says New 5-Second Video Load Delay Is Supposed to Punish Ad Blockers, Not Firefox Users

Firefox users are reporting an 'artificial' load time on YouTube videos. YouTube says it's part of a plan to make people who use adblockers "experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using."

404 Media
Show threadSteve Leach
@jasonkoebler It's bizarre to even think of YouTube having ads - we've grown accustomed to them cluttering up the web, where they aren't a *huge* problem because you just read around them, rarely if ever tricked into looking directly at them and noticing what product and/or service they're for. But AUDIO ads? I don't think so. I haven't owned a TV or listened to commercial radio in decades - but I still boycott all the brands and services I remember seeing and hearing ads for when I did.
Nov 20, 2023 at 11:25pmWeb