This week, Spotify came under fire for running recruitment ads for ICE on its free, ad-supported tier. The ads, which herald a “mission” to “protect America” and offer signing-bonuses of up to 50,000 US Dollars, were reported by multiple users and quickly sparked a backlash.
Users across Reddit, TikTok, and Spotify’s own community forums began posting that they had heard audio spots recruiting for ICE while listening to music or podcasts on Spotify. One user described hearing:
According to The Independent, “millions of dangerous illegals are rampaging the streets. Join ICE today.”
Comment
byu/ebradio from discussion
inindieheads
Another user, based in the UK, reported hearing the ad during a UK-based podcast and felt it was deeply offensive and inappropriate for a non-U.S. audience. Spotify responded by acknowledging the ads: “This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the U.S. Government is running across television, streaming and online channels… The content does not violate our advertising policies.”
Many listeners objected to the aggressive, militaristic tone of the ads, which frame immigrants or “illegals” as threats and promote ICE in strongly patriotic terms. This was seen as dehumanising and polarising. Some users argue that Spotify should not host ads spreading political propaganda or recruitment drives for a law-enforcement / immigration-enforcement body, especially given the global nature of the platform and the scale of the audience. Independent record labels such as ANTI‑ Records and Epitaph Records publicly called on Spotify to remove the ICE ads, stating that “artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture they sustain.”
The controversy raises questions about how streaming platforms vet advertising content and whether they should apply different ethical standards when serving ads for government agencies. While advertising for job recruitment is common, in this case the messaging is charged with immigration-enforcement, nationalism and a heavy “us-versus-them” framing, which makes it more than a benign job listing.
Spotify has stated that the ads comply with its advertising policies and that users can provide feedback (thumbs up/thumbs down) on individual ads. However, the company has so far refused to remove the ICE recruitment ads despite mounting pressure, once again proving that ethical business practices are not a priority at Spotify.
