YouTube Advertisements set to return to Cambodia

The Cambodian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) has confirmed that YouTube advertisements produced in Cambodia will return to the Kingdom after they were halted by the media platform in April 2021. Prior to the disruption in April, content producers in Cambodia were allowed to monetise channels by basing them overseas despite Cambodia not being part of the “YouTube Partner Program”. The MPTC said this week that Cambodia would be added to the “YouTube Partner Program” reported the Khmer Times but the Phnom Penh Post said, "According to a preliminary review by a YouTube representative, the Cambodian market is well-qualified to join the ‘YouTube Partner Program', but it'll take time to prepare the decision and collaborate with content producers to ensure that they comply with the terms and conditions set by YouTube.” As part of the agreement with YouTube, the ministry has informed content producers in Cambodia to create original content without infringing copyright laws. A statement said, "The ministry encourages the production of good content – in accordance with the principles of intellectual property, quality, creativity and professionalism – to provide benefits and nuggets of wisdom to the public." The ministry has also assigned a working group to directly engage with YouTube representatives. This follows the decision by YouTube (which is a Google/Alphabet subsidiary) to relook at their agreement with 90 countries on content monetization. More than 80% of Alphabet’s revenue comes from Google ads, which generated $147 billion in revenue globally in 2020. The tech giant is expected to control a 29% share of digital ad spending globally in 2021 reports CNBC. Google Play Pass which provide access to more than 800 apps and games was previously available in around 40 countries, has now also been expanded to 90 countries that have access to this subscription service, including Cambodia.