Many YouTube commercials on smart TVs are longer than 5 seconds and cannot be skipped - Photo: HUU HANH
According to Government Decree No. 342, which details some provisions of the Advertising Law and takes effect from February 15, 2026, for advertising formats using a series of moving images or videos, the decree stipulates a maximum delay time of 5 seconds before the image is turned off.
However, it has been observed that watching YouTube on smart TVs still involves watching advertisements that are longer than 5 seconds.
You have to watch the advertisement for 30 seconds.
While watching a martial arts movie on the YouTube app installed on his smart TV at home, Mr. Chieu (Ho Chi Minh City) said he was often "forced" to watch intrusive advertisements. Of course, since he uses the free version, Mr. Chieu has to accept it, but what's concerning is that many ads can't be turned off for more than 30 seconds.
"Most intrusive ads display a button to skip after 5 seconds or automatically skip, but there are also many ads that require viewing for more than 10, 20, or even 30 seconds. These ads may combine multiple short ads," Mr. Chieu said.
Many other users have also repeatedly complained about still having to endure non-skippable ads lasting from 15 to 30 seconds while watching YouTube on their TVs.
According to observations by Tuoi Tre reporters using YouTube on various devices, including smartphones , tablets, desktop computers, and smart TVs, except for YouTube on smart TVs, the ads interrupting videos on all other devices display a skip button after 5 seconds.
YouTube on smart TVs still features numerous ads lasting over 10, 20, or even 30 seconds before a skip button appears. Tuoi Tre newspaper contacted Google's media representative to inquire about this issue but has not yet received a response.
In addition, the new legal regulations also require online service platforms to integrate a truly intuitive and user-friendly mechanism for reporting advertising violations directly into the display interface of each marketing product.
However, nowadays, when users encounter false advertisements, advertisements for dietary supplements that exaggerate their effects as if they were medicines, or cosmetics using images of fake doctors, they still face many difficulties in finding tools to directly report and send feedback to state management agencies. This situation is occurring on many social media platforms, not just YouTube.
This shows that the compliance of these tech giants has not yet fully synchronized with the comprehensive system in depth of Vietnamese law.
When coercive advertising backfires
Media expert Dy Khoa, with a Master's degree in Scientific Communication and Public Engagement, analyzed: "A person might watch an entire advertisement because they have no other choice. However, what they remember afterward is sometimes not the product but the unpleasant feeling. This inadvertently affects the brand image. Effective advertising is not about making viewers unable to leave, but about making them willing to stay because the content is sufficiently engaging or useful."
Agreeing with this viewpoint, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hong, Marketing Director of the 24hStore retail system, shared from her own experience: "The regulation to turn off ads after a maximum of 5 seconds does not weaken marketing, but forces it to be more civilized. A good advertisement needs to win over users with content, benefits, and relevance, not by locking the end button."
From the perspective of an advertising business, Ms. Anh Hong proposed a new direction for marketers: "Instead of trying to attract viewers with long advertisements, businesses should put the main offer, benefit, or highlight message in the first 3-5 seconds (Visual Hook)."
Closer monitoring
For over a year, the chaos of spam and intrusive advertising has become a frustrating problem in the digital space. The introduction of this regulation is expected to restore order and protect the legitimate rights of consumers.
According to expert Dy Khoa: "The noteworthy point is not just the limit of ads being turned off after a maximum of 5 seconds, but more importantly, the law has affirmed that users have the right to proactively decide whether or not to continue watching advertisements. This is consistent with the management trends of many countries."
However, this expert also frankly pointed out the unfortunate reality: "Many advertisements on various digital platforms still last quite a long time. Some ads have a close button, but it's very small. In some cases, when users click the close button, they are redirected to a sales page or another advertisement."
The current reality shows that users are being bombarded with too many intrusive advertising formats. Therefore, many experts in the field recommend that regulatory authorities need a mechanism to conduct real-time checks across multiple devices, accounts, and application versions.
Only when regulatory bodies, platforms, businesses, and consumers all actively participate in reporting and strictly addressing issues can the online advertising environment truly become transparent and civilized.
Fines and removal of advertising content.
Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment in high technology.On the morning of June 26th, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung received Mr. Jeff Place, Supply Chain Director of Coherent Group (USA). During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment, especially in high-tech, innovation, and semiconductor industries. According to Government Decree No. 87 on administrative penalties in the fields of culture and advertising, effective from May 15, 2026, advertising outside of a fixed area without easily recognizable features or symbols allowing viewers to turn off the advertisement as prescribed will be subject to a fine of 60-80 million VND for organizations.
In particular, if the violation is detected within Hanoi, the fine may be doubled.
In addition to fines, according to Vietnamese law, cross-border platforms are required to remove infringing advertising content within 24 hours of receiving a written or electronic request from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to DataReportal data at the end of 2025, YouTube had 62.1 million potential advertising viewers, ranking among the top 3 platforms in Vietnam along with TikTok (76.1 million) and Facebook (79.0 million).
In terms of average usage time per service visit, YouTube leads in Vietnam with an average of over 13 minutes, followed by TikTok at nearly 10 minutes and Facebook at over 5 minutes.
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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/youtube-vo-tu-vi-pham-quy-dinh-100260629083224363.htm
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