Partnering To Combat the Spread of Violent Content Online

At Spotify, our Platform Rules strictly prohibit content that promotes terrorism or violent extremism. We take action on content that violates our Platform Rules, and we work closely with third parties with extremism expertise to ensure we are making the most informed decisions throughout these processes, taking local, regional, and cultural context into account.

Today, to advance these efforts, we are announcing the addition of Moonshot to our Spotify Safety Advisory Council (SSAC). Moonshot’s work on understanding the motivations for online hate and extremism—and how to reduce the threat of violence both online and offline—has been critical in building safeguards on our platform. 

Growing our Spotify Safety Advisory Council

At Spotify, we design products and develop policies with safety in mind, and our longstanding partnership with Moonshot has provided critical insights to get ahead of emerging online trends.

“Since 2021, we have partnered with Spotify to produce innovative product solutions and meaningful action in response to the threat of online hate and extremism,” says Clark Hogan-Taylor, Director of Tech Partnerships at Moonshot. “From protections against racial violence to fighting organized crime, our team has worked tirelessly to ensure Spotify is a safe platform for all. We are proud to be joining the Safety Advisory Council to further contribute to this important mission.”

Moonshot joins other members of the SSAC, such as the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), to help Spotify better understand the global landscape of hate and extremism as harmful trends across borders and platforms. 

These partnerships and ongoing engagement with our SSAC reflect our commitment to constantly evolve our approach as we combine the expertise of our internal safety teams, the scale of our technology, and the insights of our trusted external partners.

Violent extremist content is prohibited on Spotify

Spotify addresses potential violent extremist content through multiple policies, which include, but are not limited to:

• Our hate policies, which prohibit content that explicitly incites violence or hatred toward people based on protected characteristics, including race, sex, ethnicity, or sexual orientation; and
• Our dangerous content policies, which clearly outline that content promoting or supporting terrorism or violent extremism is strictly not allowed on the Spotify platform.

We identify potentially violative content by using proactive monitoring methods, leveraging human expertise, and reviewing and responding to user reports. When it comes to enforcement, we may take various actions, including removing content or the creator’s account, reducing distribution, and/or demonetization.

This space is nuanced, complex, and always evolving, and we are committed to continually improving our processes. You can read more about our approach to violent extremism and our safety work here.