Dec 27, 2019 - Technology

Spotify will suspend political ads in 2020

Rashaan Ayesh

Photo: Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Spotify announced Friday that it will suspend political ads in early 2020 for its nearly 130 million ad-supported listeners, Ad Age reports.

The big picture: The streaming giant, which said it lacks the resources "to responsibly validate and review" such content, is the latest tech company faced with attempting to figure out how to best handle misinformation and political ads.

Twitter announced in October that it would ban all political ads globally, while Facebook said it does not plan to fact check political ads.

What it means: Spotify's decision will only impact U.S. users since it does not run political ads globally.

The policy will extend to the platform's original podcasts as well.
Bernie Sanders and the RNC have placed political ads on Spotify in the past.
While Spotify did not disclose to Ad Age how much it makes from political ads, a person familiar with its advertising business told the publication that the sector wasn't a significant revenue driver.

Go deeper: 2020 candidates are mostly focusing their advertising spending online

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Spotify will suspend political ads in 2020

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