According to CNN, Spotify is currently taking action against podcasts that are promoting the illegal sale of medication—particularly those that can be misused.
Podcasts are one of Spotify’s key differentiators in the competitive music streaming market. While controversial podcast channels have stirred debate in the past, a new issue has emerged: shows that offer access to prescription-only medications. These include heavy opioid-based painkillers like Oxycodone and Vicodin, which are often abused as recreational drugs.
CNN reports that there are numerous podcasts—sometimes operating under misleading names, and other times quite openly—that instruct listeners on how and where to obtain these substances illegally.
Podcasts can be a powerful form of entertainment and information, but they also run the risk of taking on a life of their own—making content oversight and moderation increasingly challenging.
The problem with the internet is that there is absolutely no BS filter and no consequences to spreading harmful information. A large section of the population has no capability to distinguish trash from valuable information. There are always people who will exploit that for their own gains. It is killing us all.