Spotify says ICE adverts don’t violate their policies
Spotify have said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) adverts on the streaming platform are not in violation of their company policies.
In August, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to roll out a recruitment drive for ICE aimed at young people through services such as social media and streaming platforms.
According to The Independent, Spotify users in the United States on the free tier of the platform, which is subsidised by adverts, have been delivered ICE adverts encouraging them to “join the mission to protect America” and to “fulfil your mission” as an ICE agent.
This has led to a backlash with post-hardcore band Thursday writing on social media, “Thursday is an independent band and we join the wider independent musical community in calling upon Spotify to remove any and all ICE recruitment advertising from its platform.”
Additionally, Epitaph Records posted a similar message, writing, “Artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain. We call on Spotify to remove these ads immediately.”
They also wrote in the caption that the message applies to other platforms such as Meta, YouTube and Pandora that are allowing ICE adverts to be run on their services.
In response to the controversy surrounding the ICE adverts, a spokesperson for Spotify said: “This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels.”
The statement continued, “The content does not violate our advertising policies. However, users can mark any ad with a thumbs up or thumbs down to help manage their ad preferences.”
The ICE adverts come after many artists have chosen to withdraw their music from the streaming platform in recent months. The boycott was led by Australian rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in July, who explained of their decision, “A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform.”
Ek has since announced his plans to step down from his position at Spotify as CEO and will take up a new position as executive chair in January.
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