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INPRIMATU
Technology
Spotify and freedom of expression
  • We often believe that the right to freedom of expression is the right to say what we want. As if we lived out of context, as if freedom existed in a vacuum, unrelated, uncritical.
Diana Franco Eguren 2022ko otsailaren 10a

The words censorship and commissariat are necessary to understand this issue. Censorship carries penalties such as imprisonment, loss of life, not being allowed to speak... The curator performs the selection. Spotify paid $100 million to Jon Rogan in 2020 for offering her podcast exclusively on her platform; she made a significant selection of the content she seeks, even though the information provided by Rogan, according to various experts, is often not treated rigorously and is uninformed. The incorrect information they have found in the digital sphere has allowed in recent years situations of risk, such as the possibility of curing COVID-19 with bleach, to which Donald Trump infected.

The traditional media has been associated with a commissariat work that has followed an editorial line that each one has had the most interest. But platforms are understood as if they don't own them, but they're not, they're not neutral. That's why we're really struck by Neil Young's behavior last week, which has revealed the lack of neutrality of the Spotify platform and the right that he wants to do of his business. Singer Neil Young leaves Spotify because he sees no equivalent of having his music on a platform with content on Joe Rogan. Other creators have joined Young's behavior and are increasing the reactions of the platform's users.

I suspect that with this fact we will learn something new, but be attentive, as other platforms that work the same are rubbing their hands, opening the doors to users and creators.