Until March 2024, users in Moldova enjoyed an ad-free experience on YouTube. However, in March 2024, YouTube began showing intrusive ads in the region. Despite this change, YouTube Premium — the service that allows users to remove ads — remains completely unavailable in Moldova. (https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6307365)
This situation is frustrating because:
- workarounds don’t work: Using a VPN or changing the country in the YouTube profile doesn’t solve the issue, as payment methods are tied to the user’s actual location.
- no legal alternative exists: Moldovan users cannot subscribe to YouTube Premium to remove ads, unlike users in most other countries.In response, a petition has been started on Change.org urging Google to make YouTube Premium available in Moldova. (https://www.change.org/p/bring-youtube-premium-to-moldova-stop-forced-ads-without-an-option-to-remove-them)
Many tried reaching out to support.google, but they only provide formal, generic replies and don’t address the core issue. I’m turning to the HN community for advice: Does anyone know a specific person, team, or organization at YouTube (or Alphabet) who could help with this issue?
Curious to hear your thoughts and suggestions.