Spotify users are speaking out — and logging off — after discovering that the streaming giant is running recruitment ads for ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

These ads include language referring to “dangerous illegals” and encourage listeners to join ICE with lines like: “Fulfill your mission to protect America.”

This is more than bad judgment. It’s a betrayal of Spotify’s global audience, its artist community, and millions of immigrants and allies who now see the platform endorsing dehumanizing, state-sponsored fearmongering.

When asked, Spotify defended the ads, claiming they comply with their U.S. advertising policy and are part of a broader government campaign. But hate speech is hate speech — whether it’s paid for by a private company or a federal agency.

ICE has a well-documented record of abuse, racial profiling, family separation, and detention without trial — including against children and pregnant women. According to U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s office, there have been at least 510 documented cases of physical and sexual abuse in ICE custody. Multiple independent investigations have described the agency’s operations as extrajudicial, unaccountable, and inhumane.

To run these ads is to normalize that violence — and profit from it.

We call on Spotify’s current CEO Daniek Ek and incoming co-CEOs, Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, to take immediate action by:

• Removing all ICE recruitment ads from the platform
• Issuing a public apology for promoting ads that include anti-immigrant hate speech
• Revising Spotify’s advertising policies to prohibit government or corporate ads that promote discrimination, abuse, or human rights violations
   

Spotify doesn’t get to be a neutral player here. By airing these ads, it is choosing to amplify harmful rhetoric and align itself with one of the most controversial law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

This is not just about immigration. It’s about whether the platforms we trust with our daily lives — our music, our podcasts, our culture — are willing to stand up for basic human dignity.

Tell Spotify: Drop the ICE ads. Say no to hate-fueled recruitment.