A congressional report released Thursday details how tens of thousands of fake podcasts promoted illegal online pharmacies on Spotify. Senator Maggie Hassan criticized the company for responding only after external pressure.
The report from the Joint Economic Committee describes a spam operation that used fake podcasts to direct listeners toward illegal pharmacy and scam websites. It notes that Spotify has removed tens of thousands of such podcasts over the past year.
Senator Maggie Hassan, ranking member of the committee, said the company acted only after news outlets exposed the issue. Her office had pressed Spotify for nearly a year before the report was issued.
The findings highlight how the platform's search rankings were manipulated to favor the illicit content. No details on specific actions by Amazon or other companies were included.
