But the Constitution doesn’t give them the right to spout misinformation on any platform they choose. Joe Rogan and his guests have the right to believe and say anything they’d like, without fear of government reprisal. I’m as fierce a defender as you will find of freedom of speech. When you pay to acquire content, “you’re it.” You don’t get to have it both ways: you can’t both own it- and profit from it as Spotify does-yet not take responsibility for it. From my vantage point, the answer seems pretty clear. The answer has implications not just for Spotify but for other digital platforms that have begun paying some content creators, including Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. The Rogan episode has thrown into high relief the question of whether it’s a “platform” that simply allows creators to spread content, or whether it is a media company, which has legal liability.
When sources pushed falsehoods, our responsibility was to challenge them and to report the facts-not to hand them the microphone and turn up the volume. My role was always to ensure that the news we published was accurate and fair. We would be liable if we intentionally published false information. Anybody in my field would be out of a job if we knowingly published nonsense and then disavowed any responsibility for it. I’ve spent my career in publishing, including as editor in chief of USA Today. For Spotify to maintain that it’s not responsible for what comes out of his mouth, or that somehow it’s too difficult to moderate their content, is ludicrous. He is the streaming service’s biggest star, its calling card, its billboard name. Spotify paid Rogan a reported $100 million for exclusive rights to his podcast. It makes intentional choices about the content it disseminates, especially when it comes to Rogan. It isn’t just a tool that podcasters use to upload their work. That’s a dubious proposition for Facebook and Google-and it’s completely nonsensical when it comes to Spotify. He is hiding behind the same argument that platforms like Facebook and Google make-that Spotify is a platform that distributes content created by others, but isn’t really responsible for that content.
He stressed that Spotify doesn’t want to become a “content censor” and that he is committed to “supporting creator expression.” But despite these moves, CEO Daniel Ek also suggested this is a free speech issue.
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