Spotify to add Covid-19 content advisory labels amid Joe Rogan controversy

Spotify bosses have confirmed that they will be adding Covid-19 content advisory labels, amid intense backlash over the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Stars have spoken out against the lack of action against the misinformation on the platform, with Neil Young removing his entire catalogue from the streaming service.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry added their voices to the row, calling out Spotify for allowing ‘Covid misinformation’ to be spread, after episodes of Rogan’s podcast allegedly featured ‘fake information about vaccines’.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has now shared a public statement on the platform amid the growing fury, sharing the company’s plan to tackle the spread of misinformation.

‘A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world. To our very core, we believe that listening is everything. Pick almost any issue and you will find people and opinions on either side of it,’ it began.

‘Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly. We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users.

‘In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.

You’ve had a lot of questions over the last few days about our platform policies and the lines we have drawn between what is acceptable and what is not. 

‘We have had rules in place for many years but admittedly, we haven’t been transparent around the policies that guide our content more broadly. This, in turn, led to questions around their application to serious issues including Covid-19.’

Addressing the recent backlash, he said: ‘Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time. These issues are incredibly complex. 

‘We’ve heard you – especially those from the medical and scientific communities – and are taking the following steps.’

Outlining Spotify’s Platform Rules, it has been revealed that the company will add Covid-19 advisory labels that will take listeners to a dedicated coronavirus page featuring the latest information.

Users will not be able to publish ‘content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health’, and could be suspended or permanently banned if they break these rules.

‘I want you to know that from the very first days of the pandemic, Spotify has been biased toward action,’ he added. ‘I trust our policies, the research and expertise that inform their development, and our aspiration to apply them in a way that allows for broad debate and discussion, within the lines. 

‘We take this seriously and will continue to partner with experts and invest heavily in our platform functionality and product capabilities for the benefit of creators and listeners alike. That doesn’t mean that we always get it right, but we are committed to learning, growing and evolving.’ 

Ek’s statement comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex called out the company in a message posted through their Archewell Foundation, after Neil Young and Joni Mitchell called the platform out.

‘Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis,’ they wrote. ‘Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of mis- and disinformation every day.

‘Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.

‘We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.

‘We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.’

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