Spotify Claims It’s Stopped Running ICE Ads

Spotify has stopped running ads from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on its platform following mounting pressure after the killing of a Minneapolis woman by ICE this week.

The move comes amid nationwide outrage after 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent earlier this week during a federal immigration enforcement operation in the city. Good, a US citizen, was killed in her vehicle.

“There are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify,” a Spotify spokesperson told Variety. “The advertisements mentioned were part of a US government recruitment campaign that ran across all major media and platforms.”

The removal of ICE ads also follows pressure from a coalition of activist groups, including Indivisible Project, Working Families, and the 50501 Movement, that launched the Spotify Unwrapped campaign, urging users to pause their subscriptions in protest around the same time that Spotify unveiled their yearly Wrapped campaigns to users.

“This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels," Spotify told Newsweek. "The content does not violate our advertising policies. However, users can mark any ad with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to help manage their ads preferences.“

@whos.oshi For @stellakinns❌️ Because she wanted proof of ice ads on Spotify 🤷🏻‍♀️ #fyp #viral #trending #foryou #spotify ♬ original sound - whos.oshi

ICE recruitment ads appeared on the app between songs by the world’s biggest pop stars and featured messages where a voice said things like, “In too many cities, dangerous illegals walk free as police are forced to stand down. Join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst, with bonuses up to $50,000 and generous benefits. Apply now.”

Those ICE have been circulating across major streaming and digital platforms for months, appearing on services including Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, and Pandora as early as last spring. Financial records and reporting later revealed that Spotify was paid thousands of dollars by the Department of Homeland Security to carry the ads, while Google-owned platforms received millions of dollars.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Rolling Stone in November that “hiring law enforcement officers is mission critical in order to fix the crisis the Biden administration manufactured by letting millions of criminal illegal aliens come into the country. Nothing will slow us down from recruiting more officers.”

Anti-ICE sentiment has soared since Good’s killing, sending thousands of protesters into the streets of Minneapolis, where they held a vigil for her.

“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Donna Ganger, Good’s mother, told The Minnesota Star Tribune. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”

The Latest