Spotify today announced the acquisition of Kinzen, a company that has helped it in trying to identify harmful content on its platform.
Following a backlash earlier this year over “The Joe Rogan Experience,” in which the podcaster was accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19, the acquisition is part of Spotify’s efforts to deal with harmful content on its service.
Since 2020, the Dublin-based firm has been collaborating with Spotify, initially focusing on the integrity of election-related content around the world. Kinzen‘s mandate has since expanded to include countering misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
“The combination of tools and expert insights is Kinzen’s unique strength that we see as essential to identifying emerging abuse trends in markets and moderating potentially dangerous content at scale,” said Sarah Hoyle, Spotify’s Head of Trust and Safety. “This expansion of our team, combined with the launch of our Safety Advisory Council, demonstrates the proactive approach we’re taking in this important space,” she added.
Spotify announced earlier this year that it would be more transparent about how it determines what content is acceptable and unacceptable. In January, it published its platform rules for the first time. It formed a Safety Advisory Council in June to provide feedback on possibly harmful content.
Kinzen will provide early warnings about problems in various markets, allowing Spotify to moderate content in more languages more effectively.
“We’ve long had an impactful and collaborative partnership with Kinzen and its exceptional team. Now, working together as one, we’ll be able to even further improve our ability to detect and address harmful content, and importantly, in a way that better considers local context,” said Dustee Jenkins, Spotify’s Global Head of Public Affairs.
She continued: “This investment expands Spotify’s approach to platform safety, and underscores how seriously we take our commitment to creating a safe and enjoyable experience for creators and users.”
