Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N), an audio streaming service, announced on Wednesday that it had purchased Kinzen, a company that had assisted it in locating objectionable material on the site.
The purchase is a part of Spotify’s attempts to address harmful content on its platform following criticism of “The Joe Rogan Experience” earlier this year, in which the podcaster was charged with distributing false information regarding COVID-19.
Since 2020, the Dublin-based company has collaborated with Spotify, first concentrating on the integrity of election-related material globally. Since then, Kinzen’s mandate has been broadened to address hate speech, disinformation, and misinformation. “Kinzen offers a combination of tools and expertise to help us better understand the content on our platform and emerging abuse trends,” said Sarah Hoyle, Spotify’s head of trust and safety.
Deal details weren’t made public. Spotify announced earlier this year that it would be more open about how it chooses whether the content is appropriate or inappropriate. In January, it first made its platform rules public. It established a Safety Advisory Council in June to offer advice on hazardous content. By providing early alerts about issues in various regions, Kinzen will help Spotify more efficiently filter material in multiple languages.
