Spotify said it would pause selling political advertisements on its music streaming platform in early 2020, becoming the latest digital giant to act on concerns over disinformation ahead of the US election. The budge, which was reported by Ad Age, comes as a drive for the U.S. presidential election in November 2020.
“Beginning in early 2020, Spotify will pause the selling of political advertising. This will include political advertising content in our ad-supported tier and in Spotify original and exclusive podcasts,” a spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.
The person further added “At this point in time, we do not yet have the necessary level of robustness in our processes, systems, and tools to responsibly validate and review this content. We will reassess this decision as we continue to evolve our capabilities.”
Additionally, Spotify joins a number of other tech platforms in its ban. Reuters, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitch have all said they’re not accepting ad dollars from people seeking to affect the outcome of elections. Google, Snap, and Reddit have all placed certain restrictions on political ads, but haven’t banned them outright.
Facebook has been criticized for taking a hands-off approach, allowing political ads even if they include false or deliberately misleading claims. The Spotify decision to halt political ads applies only to Spotify’s own ad sales that include podcasts creators submit via Spotify for Podcasters and Anchor.
