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A user on Reddit shared a screenshot late at night showing a surprising result from a Spotify search: a pornographic video included in the suggested results for rapper M.I.A. Although the specific video featured in the screenshot didn't show up for us, we did discover other explicit content after scrolling through many results in the "Video" category.
One account we encountered had been sharing erotic audio for years and has more recently added sexually explicit videos to its offerings. Another account, identified by a long random series of letters and numbers, has been releasing similarly titled explicit videos as part of a podcast since mid-November.
Spotify representative Laura Batey informed *The Verge* via email that the examples we presented were removed due to violations of their content policies, which explicitly ban sexually explicit material. We reached out to Spotify to learn more about how these videos bypassed their moderation system and will provide updates once we receive a response.
The videos we found appeared to be uploads of unmoderated podcasts, and reporting them isn’t straightforward. The Spotify app does not have a dedicated button for reporting, so users must copy the content's URL and navigate to a specific webpage to report potential violations.
The presence of pornographic content on Spotify is not a recent issue. Additional Reddit threads have highlighted instances of unwelcome explicit videos appearing in search results and even erotic audio tracks suggested in users’ Discovery Weekly playlists. A 2022 story from *Vice* also covered the presence of sexually explicit audio on the platform, along with instances of graphic nudity in playlist cover art created by users.
One account we encountered had been sharing erotic audio for years and has more recently added sexually explicit videos to its offerings. Another account, identified by a long random series of letters and numbers, has been releasing similarly titled explicit videos as part of a podcast since mid-November.
Spotify representative Laura Batey informed *The Verge* via email that the examples we presented were removed due to violations of their content policies, which explicitly ban sexually explicit material. We reached out to Spotify to learn more about how these videos bypassed their moderation system and will provide updates once we receive a response.
The videos we found appeared to be uploads of unmoderated podcasts, and reporting them isn’t straightforward. The Spotify app does not have a dedicated button for reporting, so users must copy the content's URL and navigate to a specific webpage to report potential violations.
The presence of pornographic content on Spotify is not a recent issue. Additional Reddit threads have highlighted instances of unwelcome explicit videos appearing in search results and even erotic audio tracks suggested in users’ Discovery Weekly playlists. A 2022 story from *Vice* also covered the presence of sexually explicit audio on the platform, along with instances of graphic nudity in playlist cover art created by users.