Ad blocker users are penalized by YouTube by having their videos load more slowly
Ads are YouTube's main source of income, and ad blockers are a serious issue. For a while now, the business has been fighting them in an effort to eradicate them permanently. Slowing down videos on the platform is one of its newest tactics to stop users from using ad blockers.
Every effort has been made by YouTube to prevent its users from using ad blockers. The company takes the identification of these kinds of tools that violate its terms of service very seriously because it wants users to watch advertisements or pay for premium services. They have previously taken steps like dimming the screen or preventing video playback. They have returned with videos that move more slowly.
A Reddit user posted a few days ago that YouTube was "penalizing" him for having an ad blocker enabled: "YouTube is subtly telling me it's slowing me down while watching YouTube because of the ad blocker." You can read about other users who are having the same problem in the comments section. One user even confessed that he would rather "wait 4 or 5 seconds" for the app's advertisements to load.
YouTube's Terms of Service make it clear where it stands on ad blocking. They will inevitably impose restrictions if they find out that using ad blockers is strictly forbidden, without exception. They try to get rid of these kinds of apps or extensions from users' devices and web browsers in this way, and if they don't purchase the premium version, they are at least helping the platform make money by watching advertisements.