YouTube News

Three subscribers sued Google over YouTube Premium ad-free claims

Thirumugham Palaniappan, Jason Kooner, and Connor MacLeod sued Google in British Columbia over creator sponsorships in paid videos.

Thirumugham Palaniappan, Jason Kooner, and Connor MacLeod filed a proposed class action against Google LLC, Google Canada Corporation, and YouTube LLC in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on August 21. The three subscribers, who paid for YouTube Premium between 2021 and 2025, say the service's ad-free marketing misrepresents what they get when creators embed paid promotions in their uploads.

YouTube Premium strips out ads that the platform inserts mid-roll, but it does not remove sponsorship segments that creators record inside a video. The plaintiffs argue that distinction leaves Premium viewers with the same commercial breaks they paid to avoid.

"Although the source and delivery mechanism of the advertisements changed, the commercial interruption experienced by subscribers remained substantially the same," the complaint states.

The suit alleges breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of Canada's Competition Act and British Columbia's Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act. Palaniappan, Kooner, and MacLeod are seeking restitution for subscription fees and an injunction barring YouTube from calling Premium ad-free without a clear disclosure that creator sponsorships may still play.

The British Columbia filing follows a July class action in California, where residents William Flemming and Devin Rose raised the same ad-free complaint against Google and YouTube over sponsored segments in videos from Theo Von, Kallmekris, and Markiplier.

YouTube's Help Center notes that Premium members may still see branding and promotions that creators build into their content. Both lawsuits say that caveat is buried too far from the signup pitch.

YouTube raised U.S. Premium prices in August, lifting individual plans to $15.99 per month and family memberships to $26.99.