The streaming giant Spotify has formed an 18-member Safety Advisory Council to give expert input on issues ranging from hate speech to disinformation to online extremism.
In a blog post, Spotify (SPOT) referred to the move as “the first safety-focused council of its type at any major audio company” that will “help Spotify evolve its policies and products in a safe way while making sure we respect creator expression.”
The council will not “make enforcement decisions about specific content or creators,” but their input will help shape the company’s “high-level policies and the internal processes our teams follow to ensure that policies are applied consistently and at scale around the world,” particularly in regards to areas such as “equity, impact, and academic research.”
The council will include members of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the Center for Democracy and Technology and Dangerous Speech Project.
Controversies Boil Over
In the blog post, Spotify said it has “moved to being more transparent about our safety efforts.” The company, however, didn't offer any specific explanation of why they have formed this council.
However, the need for one became clear earlier this year in the wake of a series of controversies surrounding Joe Rogan, who is both the most popular podcaster in the world (his exclusive contract with Spotify for “The Joe Rogan Experience," is reportedly costing the company $200 million) and a huge headache for the company.
For years, people have been complaining about Rogan for a variety of reasons, ranging from his tendency to make transphobic remarks to his habit of making casual anti-black racist remarks.
Things came to head in December, when Rogan interviewed Robert Malone, a vaccine skeptic who has been banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation.
After Malone claimed on “The Joe Rogan Experience” that vaccines weren't working, Rogan became the subject of intense media scrutiny for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
In an act of protest, classic rock legend Neil Young, a survivor of childhood polio, demanded that Spotify either pull Rogan or his music. Spotify stuck with Rogan. Joni Mitchell followed suit.
Adding fuel to the fire, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Inida.Arie posted a video on Instagram that compiled several instances of Rogan using racial slurs.
In response, Rogan both apologized and said in the future he would do more research to “balance things out.” He insisted that he’s open to the idea of speaking with “more experts, with differing opinions, right after I have the controversial ones.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek created a COVID-19 Hub that provides “easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.”
Spotify also removed, reportedly, nearly 70 episodes of “The Joe Rogan” experience from the service and also issued safety advisories at the start of select episodes that pertained to COVID-19.
Ek also condemned Rogan’s use of “the n-word” but decided not to heed calls to remove him from Spotify, deeming it a “slippery slope.”
So while it’s pretty clear what this whole thing is about, in an interview with Rueters, Sarah Hoyle, Spotify’s head of trust and safety, denied the advisory council was formed in reaction to “any particular creator or situation.”
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It’s unclear what effect the Spotify Safety Advisory Council will actually have.
Spotify will submit cases for the council to review and provide feedback. Spotify can then accept or reject any advice given by the council.
