John,
Spotify is running paid ICE recruitment ads that glorify the tactics of a secret police force — tactics that are fundamentally incompatible with American democracy and the rule of law.
ICE has used masked agents, excessive force, and unmarked vans to abduct people off the street, disappearing them for days or weeks at a time. These raids and grab-and-go operations routinely threaten and harm both citizens and non-citizens, spreading fear and violence through entire communities.
But Spotify is profiting from running racist ads that assume the worst of all people of color. For example, one ad contains the following paranoid perspective on police-community interactions in a multicultural society:
“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.”
This is not harmless recruitment language, but dehumanizing propaganda. By referring to people of color as “dangerous illegals,” the implication is that a person implies a threat simply by the color of their skin or the accent with which they speak – and that this is enough to justify roughing them up and detaining them, even when they can prove their citizenship.
Send a direct message to CEO Daniel Ek demanding Spotify drop ICE recruitment ads and stop promoting the Trump administration’s hate-fueled agenda now!
The people ICE targets in these operations -- day laborers, parents dropping their kids at school, workers heading to job sites -- are not the “worst of the worst.” ICE’s history of racial profiling, unconstitutional arrests, coercive questioning, and unnecessary brutality has been exposed again and again by journalists, watchdogs, and bystanders’ videos.
ICE’s tactics have traumatized children, injured peaceful protestors in prayer, torn families apart, and destabilized whole neighborhoods -- the very opposite of what a society committed to democratic norms should tolerate. By amplifying this messaging, Spotify is endorsing state violence that undermines due process, equal protection, and the basic rights of our democracy.
Spotify has sought to justify its decision by calling the ads “policy compliant.” But what is the justification for complying with a bad policy? Responsible guidelines would prohibit any agency or organization from using the platform to recruit for operations rooted in fear, discrimination, and cruelty. ICE’s ads – and documented actions -- clearly cross that line.
Artists, listeners, and communities across the country are speaking out -- and the backlash is growing. Spotify must remove these ads immediately, issue a public apology, and revise its advertising guidelines to ensure they do not subject customers to hateful, dehumanizing, or violence-glorifying content.
Tell Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to stop running ICE recruitment ads now!
Thank you for resisting the promotion of racial profiling and excessive force in our communities.
- DFA AF Team
