Spotify Technology SA said it would suspend sales of political advertisements on its music streaming platform in early 2020.
The world's most popular paid music streaming service that has nearly 141 million users said the suspension would extend to Spotify's original and exclusive podcasts. It is happening as the campaign for the US presidential election in November 2020 is heating up.
Several online platforms, including Facebook and Google’s Alphabet Inc., are under growing police pressure and stop posting political ads that contain false or misleading statements.
Last month, Google said it would stop allowing advertisers to target campaign ads using data such as public voter records and general political connections.
In 2019, Twitter and TikTok, as well as other social networks such as LinkedIn and Pinterest, refused to sell political advertisements, while Snapchat strengthened control over such ads.
The new policy will cover political groups, such as candidates for office, elected and appointed officials, political parties, political action committees (PACs), and Super PACs, as well as content that advocates for or against these structures. Spotify will also not sell ads that promote legislative and judicial decisions.
This step only applies to Spotify ad sales, not to advertisements embedded in third-party content, although they are still subject to broader Spotify content policies.
