Streaming giant Spotify has confirmed that recruitment advertisements for ICE are no longer appearing on its service, with the campaign having concluded in late 2025. Leftists suffered a collective meltdown in October when the company said the ads did not violate its terms and conditions.
Variety reports that Spotify has publicly stated that it is not currently running recruitment advertisements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a company spokesperson. The confirmation comes amid renewed scrutiny of the platform’s advertising policies, though the company has clarified that the advertising campaign actually ended in the latter part of 2025 rather than being a recent decision.
The spokesperson emphasized that the advertisements in question were part of a broader recruitment effort by the United States government that was distributed across multiple major media platforms and services, not exclusively on Spotify.
The ICE recruitment advertisements first generated significant controversy in October when users on Spotify’s ad-supported tier reported hearing promotional messages encouraging listeners to join the agency’s mission to protect America. These advertisements reportedly included substantial financial incentives, with signing bonuses of up to fifty thousand dollars being offered to potential new recruits. The ads appeared between songs for users who utilize the free, advertisement-supported version of the streaming platform.
The advertising campaign sparked immediate backlash from leftist musicians and listeners. Multiple campaigns were organized calling for users to cancel their Spotify subscriptions and boycott the service entirely in protest of the ICE recruitment ads. The controversy extended beyond individual users, with music labels also reportedly contacting Spotify to request that the company cease serving the immigration enforcement advertisements on its platform.
Breitbart News previously reported on the backlash when Spotify told leftists that the ads did not violate any of their advertising rules:
Several artists have recently been trying to get their music taken down from Spotify in protest of the company allowing ICE recruitment ads to play on the streaming platform, according to a report by Stereogum.
Some of the artists reportedly include Massive Attack, Sylvan Esso, and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, with many of them also citing Spotify founder Daniel Ek having invested in the AI military company Helsing.
But artists have also specifically mentioned the ads promoting jobs in law enforcement, with independent music label Epitaph Records complaining about them last week in a social media post calling for Spotify to “remove these ads immediately.”
“Epitaph joins others in the independent music community calling on Spotify to remove ICE recruitment ads,” the record label said, adding, “Artists and fans deserve platforms that reflect the values of the culture their sustain.”
Spotify played a relatively minor role in the overall government recruitment and messaging campaign compared to other major technology platforms. The distribution of advertising spending across multiple platforms indicates a coordinated effort by federal authorities to reach diverse audiences through various digital channels.
Read more at Variety here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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