Spotify acquires Kinzen to detect and prevent harmful content

Spotify announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Kinzen, a Dublin-based company that has helped it in identifying and preventing harmful content on its platform since 2020.

The news comes months after Spotify came under fire earlier this year over ‘’The Joe Rogan Experience’’ podcast which was accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation. Many artists boycotted Spotify by removing their content, and 270 physicians and scientists sent an open letter to the company demanding it to create policies to prevent misinformation. 

Following the backlash, Spotify published its platform rules in January, and launched its Safety Advisory Council in June which provides it with feedback on content moderation.

With the acquisition of its long-term partner Kinzen, the company now aims to take its platform safety to the next level.

In a blog post, Spotify’s Global Head of Public Affairs Dustee Jenkins said: “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. 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.”

Sarah Hoyle, Head of Trust and Safety at Spotify, commented: “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. 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.”

Earlier this year, Spotify acquired podcast technology companies Podsights and Chartable, AI voice platform Sonantic, and popular music game Heardle. It also formed a partnership with Integral Ad Science to create a brand safety solution for podcast advertising.