Spotify finally responds to Joe Rogan controversy with a plan to label podcasts that discuss COVID-19

Following criticism of the platform's handling of the controversial content in the Joe Rogan Experience, Spotify will now add COVID-19 content advisories. The advisory will lead to a hub for up-to-date information about the Pandemic.

To increase transparency around its treatment of the issue, Spotify is making its content policy and general platform rules publicly available on its site. Anyone who breaks the rules may have their content removed, with repeat offenders potentially having their accounts suspended or banned. The policy was obtained ahead of the platform's public release, and an internal memo revealed that Joe Rogan's show didn't meet the threshold for removal.

According to the policy, the platform also prohibits content that encourages people to get infections. It said that wearing a mask will cause the wearer imminent, life-threatening physical harm.

There’s been a lot of conversation about information regarding COVID-19 on Spotify. We’ve heard the criticism and we’re implementing changes to help combat misinformation. https://t.co/ic8jfR1RNR

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) January 30, 2022

You have had a lot of questions about our platform policies and the lines we have drawn between what is acceptable and what is not, according to Daniel Ek.

Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Nils Lofgren have all had their music removed from the platform in protest of Rogan's comments that healthy young people don't need the vaccine. It's not clear whether the controversy surrounding Rogan was the cause of the break from adding new episodes to her shows.

Spotify Platform Rules - Dangerous Content Policy

Content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health includes, but may not be limited to:

asserting that AIDS, COVID-19, cancer or other serious life threatening diseases are a hoax or not real

encouraging the consumption of bleach products to cure various illnesses and diseases

promoting or suggesting that vaccines approved by local health authorities are designed to cause death

encouraging people to purposely get infected with COVID-19 in order to build immunity to it (e.g. promoting or hosting “coronavirus parties”)

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