British Columbians claim YouTube falsely advertises ‘ad-free’ premium services

Filed 21h ago · Via Courthouse News · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

The Bandit

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Michael J DAmato · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Three British Columbia residents have filed a class action against Google, Google Canada, and YouTube LLC alleging that YouTube Premium, sold for CA$12.99 a month, promises an 'ad-free' experience while still letting creators run their own sponsored content inside videos. The plaintiffs say ads under this arrangement were once rare but have become frequent and pervasive, delivering the same commercial interruption the subscription was supposed to eliminate — just from a different source.

The suit, filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, alleges breach of contract along with violations of Canada's Competition Act and British Columbia's consumer protection law. The plaintiffs argue Google benefits twice over, collecting subscription fees for an 'ad-free' promise while also profiting from the creator economy's embedded advertising that undercuts it.

They're seeking restitution of subscription overpayments and an injunction forcing YouTube to disclose that creator-embedded ads may still appear. The case follows a similar suit filed in July by two California plaintiffs making the same core allegation; Google has not responded to requests for comment.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Calling a product 'ad-free' while leaving a wide-open lane for sponsored content baked directly into the video is the kind of distinction that only survives in a legal department, never in an actual subscriber's living room. Paying nearly ten dollars a month to remove one flavor of advertisement while another flavor multiplies unchecked is not a loophole so much as a business model wearing a loophole as a hat. Two lawsuits on two different sides of a border suggest subscribers noticed the trick well before anyone bothered to fix it.

Source: Read the original at Courthouse News → Scored: The Bandit · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

Read it scored.

Every story, every clown, every kazoo — in your pocket. Music plays automatically. Regret is optional.

GET IT ON iOS GET IT ON ANDROID