Vietnam has passed new advertising regulations that could force platforms like YouTube and Twitch to overhaul their ad system or face potential restrictions in the country. Under Decree 342/2025/ND-CP, online platforms must allow users to skip video and animated image ads after a maximum of five seconds.
The regulation directly conflicts with YouTube and Twitch’s standard advertising model. The platforms regularly serve unskippable pre-roll ads when viewers enter a stream and mid-roll ad breaks that run significantly longer than five seconds. These ads are a core part of YouTube and Twitch’s monetization strategy for both the platform and creators.
The decree applies to all online video platforms serving users in Vietnam. It specifically targets “animated image sequences or videos” and sets the five-second threshold as the maximum waiting time before a skip option must appear. The regulation also restricts forced wait times for closing certain ad formats.
Platforms like YouTube and Twitch now face several options. They could enable skip buttons after five seconds for Vietnamese viewers, totally changing the ad experience in that market. They could shift to more frequent but skippable ads or replace video ads with static banner formats. Or they could reduce service availability in Vietnam entirely.
Twitch has precedent for pulling back from markets where regulations create operational challenges. The platform shut down its operations in South Korea in 2024 after facing high network fees and other regulatory pressures. Whether Vietnam represents a similar breaking point remains unclear.
