US organizations call for a boycott of Spotify. The reason is ICE recruiting ads, AI-generated music & investments in military technology.
Now it’s finally enough: three organizations in the USA have started a boycott campaign against Spotify. The campaign, called “Spotify Unwrapped,” is directed against ICE recruitment advertising on the streaming platform, the alleged use of AI-generated music, and CEO Daniel Ek’s investments in an AI military company.
The initiative was launched by Indivisible Project, Working Families and 50501 Movement – the same organizations that initiated the “No Kings” protests. The timing of the campaign deliberately coincides with the publication of “Spotify Wrapped”, the annual review for users, which has been available in this country since December 3rd.
Organizations encourage subscription cancellation
Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, said in an official statement: “Every year, Spotify Wrapped is meant to celebrate artists and listeners. This year, Spotify has instead wrapped itself in complicity.” Levin and his campaign colleagues are now calling on Spotify users to cancel their subscriptions.
Editorial recommendations
To understand: According to a report by US “Rolling Stone”, the US Department of Homeland Security spent around $74,000 on ICE recruitment ads on Spotify in 2025 – significantly less than on platforms like YouTube or Meta. Despite protests from artists and users, Spotify is sticking to running the ads and justifying this by saying that they do not violate its advertising guidelines.
Spotify responds to the AI music debate with new measures
In parallel with criticism of the increasing use of AI-generated tracks, Spotify recently introduced new policies and tools aimed at targeting “bad actors”. At the same time, the streaming service announced a partnership with ChatGPT to offer personalized music and podcast recommendations. However, there is currently no concrete information on this.