This archive report was first published on 27 December 2019.
December 27, 2019
Spotify, a leading music streaming service with a large user base in the United States, has decided to halt the sale of political advertising in 2020.
The move follows similar decisions by Twitter and Google to limit the targeting of political ads.
Spotify's decision was made due to the company's inability to effectively identify and filter false information in political ads.
"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 Spotify spokesperson stated.
"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," the spokesperson added.
Spotify's decision to pause political ads comes as online platforms face increasing pressure to combat disinformation from politicians ahead of the 2020 US elections.
