Spotify Responds to Complaints About Covid Misinformation

The chief executive of Spotify responded on Sunday to growing complaints from musicians and listeners over the role of Joe Rogan, the streaming service's star podcaster, in spreading what has been widely criticized as misinformation about the coronaviruses. Last week, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, two musical icons whose cultural influence is far greater than their streaming numbers, removed their music from Spotify to protest the platform's support of Rogan.

Daniel Ek, who is also one of the founding members of the company, wrote in a public letter that they have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of their users.

Rogan has drawn complaints for his interviews with vaccine skeptics. A group of more than 200 professors and public health officials called on Spotify to remove a recent episode featuring Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious-disease expert, that included several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines.

Last week, Young and Mitchell decided to remove their music from Spotify, sparking a debate about what role artists can have in deciding where their music is heard. Mitchell wrote that irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives.

The issue has caused a new debate about free speech on the internet and political polarization in the coronaviruses era. Technology and social media platforms have been accused of playing a role in spreading untruths about the vaccine and the virus. Some free speech advocates have defended those outlets for allowing open debate, and services like Facebook and YouTube have bragged about taking down misinformation.

Ek said that if a discussion about the coronaviruses is included in a podcasts episode, it would be added to the content advisory. There are links to health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in that hub. Rogan, a comedian and actor, signed a deal with the streaming service in 2020 that is said to be worth $100 million, though it is not known if that is true. His show is the most popular.

For the first time, the service is publishing its platform rules, which address dangerous, deceptive, sensitive and illegal content. There are rules barring the promotion of dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or pose a direct threat to public health.

Since the start of the Pandemic, the company has removed over 20,000 episodes of the Covid show.