Spotify tightens brand safety measures, removing 'Hate Content'

Spotify has launched a new initiative to bring peace to the minds of advertisers. The new initiative called the Hate Content and Hateful Conduct public policy relates to content that advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics.. These could be based on race, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability.According to Spotify, the move was made to reflect its values be it through distribution, promotion, or content creation.When the company is alerted to content that violates its policy, Spotify may remove it after consulting with rights holders. Spotify can also choose to refrain from promoting or “playlisting” it on its service.Taking in consideration that cultural standards and sensitivities widely vary, Spotify says that they will always look at the entire context.To help identify hate content, Sportify has partnered with rights advocacy groups, including The Southern Poverty Law Center, The Anti-Defamation League, Color Of Change, Showing Up for Racial Justice, GLAAD, Muslim Advocates, and the International Network Against Cyber Hate. Spotify has also built an internal content monitoring tool, Spotify AudioWatch, which identifies content on our platform that has been flagged as hate content on specific international registers.Meanwhile, it will also review content from  creators who have demonstrated hateful conduct personally. One such artist to have received the axe is R. Kelly. His music has since been removed from Spotify's curated playlists due to sexual abuse accusation against Kelly. The Grammy winner has been accused of sexual assault and coercion over the last 20 years by multiple women. This behavior was recently questioned due to the #MeToo era and the rise of the #MuteRKelly social media campaign.(Photo courtesy: 123RF)