Is Spotify still supporting ICE?
Executive summary
Spotify is not currently running ICE recruitment advertisements: the company confirmed the campaign concluded at the end of 2025 and said “there are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify” [1] [2]. That factual pause, however, falls short of a permanent policy change—Spotify has repeatedly framed the ads as part of a U.S. government campaign and declined to commit to refusing future similar buys, prompting continued criticism from activists and artists [3] [4].
1. What happened: the ads ran, then the contract ended
Spotify aired recruitment spots for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during 2025 as part of a broader federal recruitment push that also ran on platforms like YouTube, Amazon and HBO Max, and the company says the advertisements were part of a U.S. government campaign that concluded in late 2025 [2] [5]. Multiple trade and mainstream outlets report Spotify’s confirmation that the ICE campaign stopped streaming at the end of 2025 and that “there are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify” [6] [1].
2. The corporate line: not running ads now, policy unchanged
Spotify’s public statements emphasize the temporal nature of the move: the ads stopped because the government campaign ended, not because Spotify rescinded approval on policy grounds, and company spokespeople have said content “does not violate our advertising policies,” while noting future ads would need to meet existing rules [2] [3]. Reporting indicates Spotify declined to say it categorically would refuse identical future campaigns, offering instead the standard line that ads must adhere to platform policy [3].
3. The backlash: artists, activists and elected officials push for permanence
The ICE buys provoked a high-profile backlash: grassroots group Indivisible led calls for boycotts and letters urging Spotify to stop the ads and change its advertising rules, and several prominent artists publicly removed music or supported cancellation campaigns [4] [7]. Local and state officials also raised concerns—New York’s comptroller and others demanded explanations about how the ads were approved and sought transparency over Spotify’s assessment against discrimination and inclusivity policies [8].
4. Why critics say “not running” isn’t enough
Campaigners argue that the end of the contract “does not erase the damage done,” because Spotify profited from running recruitment spots that critics say helped a massively funded ICE hiring effort tied to enforcement actions they contest [9] [4]. Indivisible and others are calling for explicit policy changes to prevent future government recruitment advertising they deem harmful, insisting that a mere pause driven by the campaign’s expiration leaves a gap for similar buys to return [4].
5. The counterpoint: platforms running government ads is common practice
Coverage also places Spotify’s involvement in a broader media landscape where government recruiting campaigns routinely buy ad inventory across major platforms; reporting notes the ICE campaign’s presence across many outlets and that ad dollars came from a large federal hiring initiative, framing Spotify as one channel among many [5] [9]. Some coverage and Spotify’s statements stress that the campaign’s content was judged to comply with platform rules at the time it ran [2] [3].
6. What's left unresolved
Public sources confirm only that the specific ICE recruitment campaign ended and that Spotify is not currently running those ads; they do not show a binding or permanent policy change by Spotify to prohibit future ICE or similar government recruitment advertising [1] [3]. Investigative reporting and critics continue to press for transparency about payments, policy assessments and commitments to prevent future buys, and those questions remain open in public reporting [8] [3].
Conclusion
The direct answer: Spotify is not currently supporting ICE through recruitment ads because the government campaign expired and Spotify confirmed the ads stopped at the end of 2025 [1] [6]. However, the company has not publicly committed to banning future ICE ads, and critics say the cessation driven by the campaign’s end falls short of the structural policy change they demand [3] [4].