Congressional Report: Spotify Removed 57,000+ Fake Podcasts Promoting Illegal Pharmacies After Pressure
By
Dell Cameron
Summary
A joint congressional report by Senator Maggie Hassan reveals that Spotify hosted tens of thousands of fake podcasts advertising illegal online pharmacies, exploiting the platform's search ranking algorithms. Spotify removed over 57,000 podcast episodes and 3,000 shows, but only after media exposure and nearly a year of pressure from Hassan's office. The company did not report any of the removed content to law enforcement, raising concerns about platform accountability and enforcement gaps.
Source
bskyCongressional Report: Spotify Removed 57,000+ Fake Podcasts Promoting Illegal Pharmacies After Pressurewired.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledA report released Thursday by Senator Maggie Hassan, ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, faults the company for acting only after news outlets exposed the content and her office spent nearly a year pressing for answers.
None of what it removed was sent to law enforcement, the report says.
Spotify reportedly removed more than 57,000 podcast episodes and 3,000 shows, and took enforcement action against 3,500 accounts, all pushing links to illegal online pharmacies.
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