There is a rumor that Cambodia is banned and restricted  from YouTube Advertising and Monetization.

There is a rumor that has been viral a few weeks in Cambodia disclosed that “YouTube video ads in Cambodia have been blocked, allowing local users to view only videos posted on the site without ads.”

This has become a great concern for Cambodian YouTubers (content creators) and advertisers for being interrupted in driving revenue for their businesses.

Regarding the question about the ban, a YouTube representative for Southeast Asia said that under the monetary policy of content creators in Cambodia, monitors were not allowed to monetize their videos on his channels.

“Advertisers can target their ads only to countries where YouTube has launched monetization sites,” the policy states.

The YouTube representative above could not determine why all ads were blocked on the platform.

Mr.. SOVANN, CEO of Activerify, a trusted local digital marketing company, says services such as YouTube advertising are vital to doing business in Cambodia. He said he has been using these types of ads in the country since he arrived in 2016. “For Google, Facebook or other big technology companies to take away services from Cambodia is not appropriate,” he said.

Regarding the question of whether the withdrawal of advertisements may be related to the Government Sub-Decree on Value Added Tax (VAT) for digital goods and services sold by foreign companies? “Value Added Tax (VAT) on digital goods and services is a global issue,” he said. He added that the Royal Government of Cambodia is always willing to discuss and meet with companies on such issues and would be surprised if the removal of advertisements is in line with government policy.

Chris McCarthy, CEO of MangoTango Asia, a local digital marketing company, says “Not sure what has happened to YouTube yet, but the closure is a demonstration of the power these companies have over business revenue and that is something the government should be concerned”.

While Cambodia-based YouTube videos are not eligible for monetization at all, it is also worth noting that Google Ads does not collect value added tax (VAT) in other countries in the region including Thailand.

Policy for Thailand states: “Because your Google Ads business contract is registered with Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. Local taxes do not apply to your Google Ads activity. “These taxes will not be shown on your invoice.”

Mr.. SOVANN noted that Google Ads is still active on websites in Cambodia.

YouTube banned or restricted Ads and Monetization in Cambodia-Cambodia Time