EU Media Regulators Seek Rules to End Misinformation on Spotify

Media regulators in the European Union (EU) are considering rules designed to end misinformation on Spotify, according to a report in Politico Thursday (Feb. 10).

The Swedish audio streaming and media services provider has been facing criticism for failing to deal with health- and climate-related  falsehoods as well as hate speech on its platform.

“We should hold them accountable not as a publisher but just like any other online platform in the Digital Services Act,” Frédéric Bokobza, deputy director general of France’s media regulator, Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, told the news outlet.

The issue has emerged as the EU considers the Digital Services Act, a legislative proposal by the European Commission to police illegal content, advertising, and disinformation. The measure would put social media platforms such as Spotify, Facebook and TikTok and Telegram ­— that reach more than 45 million European users — on notice they must remove such content or face fines.

“As of now, we do not have regulatory tools in the French law which would enable us to oversee audio streaming companies, on top of the fact [Spotify] is not based on our territory,” Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of France’s audiovisual regulator, told Politico.

Talk of a proposal for more regulation follows Joe Rogan’s discussion of COVID-19 drew criticism from many high-profile music artists who stream their music on Spotify. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their catalogs when Spotify refused to sanction Rogan or remove him from the platform.

Related: Spotify Downplays Joe Rogan Controversy During 2021 Q4 Earnings Update

During the company’s 2021 Q4 earnings call Wednesday (Feb. 2),  Spotify CEO Daniel Ek insisted the company has emerged from “a few notable days here at Spotify” as a better company overall. Users, he said, will see changes almost immediately to lessen the chance of its creators spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, or anything else.