"I use my data to watch YouTube ads" ... yet actual usage remains "in the dark"

[Financial News] A plan is being pursued to require YouTube to disclose the amount of data consumed when users watch advertisements. Critics say users contribute to the platform's revenue by viewing ads while also bearing the data costs required to deliver them.
According to the office of Rep. Han Jun-ho, the Democratic Party of Korea's ranking member on the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, Han will examine the data burden on users resulting from watching YouTube ads during this year's parliamentary audit. He also plans to pursue institutional improvements requiring the disclosure of advertising volume and data usage.
According to Han, YouTube's domestic monthly active users (MAUs) stood at 45.7 million as of December last year. Since YouTube ranked first in South Korea by mobile app users, surpassing KakaoTalk and Naver, he said its advertising exposure and related data usage should also be disclosed transparently.
YouTube's advertising revenue is also increasing. An analysis by Han's office of Alphabet's annual report found that YouTube's global advertising revenue rose 28% in two years, from $31.51 billion in 2023, or approximately KRW 43 trillion, to $40.367 billion last year, or approximately KRW 55 trillion.
By contrast, publicly available data make it difficult to determine how much advertising revenue YouTube generated in South Korea, how often and how long domestic users watched advertisements, or how much data was used to deliver them.
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency's 2025 Content Usage Behavior Survey, only 21% of YouTube users in South Korea used YouTube Premium. The remaining 79% who do not use Premium are exposed to advertisements while watching YouTube content.
In particular, when users access YouTube over a mobile network, their plan's data allowance is used not only to stream the main video but also to deliver advertisements. Watching an advertisement does not immediately result in an additional charge, but on plans with limited data allowances, it can affect when users exhaust their data or encounter speed restrictions.
Han therefore proposed introducing a so-called "Ad Burden Transparency Report," which would require advertising-supported video platforms above a certain size to regularly disclose domestic users' ad-viewing frequency and duration, as well as the amount of data used to deliver advertisements.
He also proposed providing users with information enabling them to check their own advertising history and the resulting data usage. He said ways to reduce the burden on users of low-data plans and specific standards for ad exposure should be examined based on domestic usage patterns, overseas cases, and the impact on the industry.
Han said, "Users are the ones watching the ads, but they are also bearing the data costs needed to download them," adding, "YouTube must first transparently disclose how many advertisements it shows in South Korea and how much of users' data is being used."
He continued, "I will clearly reveal the reality of the burden imposed by YouTube advertisements during this year's parliamentary audit," emphasizing, "I will pursue institutional improvements so that users can check and choose the amount of advertising they are subjected to and the amount of data they use."
[email protected] Choi Hye-rim Reporter