{"id":2469212,"date":"2025-07-31T15:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-to-probe-potential-spotify-censorship-of-top-podcasters\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T15:27:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:27:45","slug":"house-gop-to-probe-potential-spotify-censorship-of-top-podcasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-to-probe-potential-spotify-censorship-of-top-podcasters\/","title":{"rendered":"House GOP to Probe Potential Spotify Censorship of Top Podcasters"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-gop-to-probe-potential-spotify-censorship-of-top-podcasters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469212&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>GOP Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio is leading a House Judiciary Committee investigation into whether the European Union (E.U.) and the Biden management pressured Spotify to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fcc-commissioner-blasts-democrat-complaint-against-fox-news-affiliate-fcc-is-not-dncs-speech-police\/\" title=\"FCC Commissioner Blasts Democrat Complaint Against Fox News Affiliate: FCC Is Not \u2018DNC\u2019s Speech Police\u2019\">censor free speech<\/a>. Jordan criticized E.U. and U.K. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >laws requiring social media platforms-including<\/a> U.S.-based ones-to remove &#8220;disinformation&#8221; and &#8220;harmful content&#8221; under threat of fines.these foreign regulations, he argues, could limit americans&#8217; constitutional free speech rights. The committee has ordered Spotify to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-wages-harassment-campaign-against-freedom-convoy-donors\/\" title=\"Media Wages Harassment Campaign Against Freedom Convoy Donors\">preserve documents related<\/a> to contact with foreign governments and White House officials, demanding this data by August 12.<\/p>\n<p>The inquiry highlights concerns that the Biden administration also pressured Big Tech to censor protected speech. Spotify, which faced prior controversies involving content moderation-including labeling COVID-19 misinformation and banning then-reinstating Steve Bannon&#8217;s show-is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation points to worries that Spotify&#8217;s compliance with foreign censorship laws could lead to similar restrictions on U.S. users.Jordan referenced a recent incident where an E.U. official warned Elon Musk&#8217;s platform X about potential content censorship to prevent &#8220;spillovers&#8221; in Europe. The core argument is that America must not succumb to foreign or domestic pressures that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-cant-solve-our-cancel-culture-problem\/\" title=\"Government Can\u2019t Solve our Cancel Culture Problem\">suppress free speech<\/a>, and while the investigation is a first step, the public wants accountability and action.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is spearheading a House Judiciary Committee investigation into the E.U. and Biden administration, to determine if they pushed Spotify to censor free speech.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Jordan criticized laws from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trumps-eu-trade-deal-tremendous-american-media-outlets-criticizing-good\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">E.U.<\/a> and U.K. requiring social media sites &mdash; even those based in the United States &mdash; to censor &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo; and &ldquo;harmful content&rdquo; or face hefty fines.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These foreign laws, regulations, and judicial orders may limit or restrict Americans&rsquo; access to constitutionally protected speech in the United States. Indeed, that appears to be their very purpose,&rdquo; Jordan <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/in-the-news\/house-probes-spotify-over-censorship-after-disinformation-controversies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a>, in a copy of the letter obtained by The New York Post earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;More relevantly, it&rsquo;s the pressure we are seeing the E.U. put on companies to censor more,&rdquo; a source familiar with the probe <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/07\/29\/media\/house-probes-spotify-over-censorship-after-joe-rogan-steve-bannon-disinformation-controversies\/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>The committee ordered Spotify to &ldquo;preserve documents and all contact with foreign governments, as well as individuals linked to the White House, and provide this information to the House by Aug. 12.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This impulse to censor speech, however, is not confined to foreign governments,&rdquo; the letter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/us-house-asks-spotify-to-provide-documents-from-various-govts-that-ordered-censorship\/ar-AA1JwGRl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">added<\/a>. &ldquo;The committee&rsquo;s prior investigative efforts showed that the Biden-Harris Administration repeatedly pressured Big Tech to censor Americans&rsquo; protected speech.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A Spotify representative told the New York Post, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve received the letter and will respond accordingly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t the first time Spotify has been at the center of controversy regarding censorship. During the pandemic, podcaster Joe Rogan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-former-cnn-host-admits-using-ivermectin-saying-users-shamed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made comments<\/a> related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/documents-usaid-sent-thousands-viral-samples-wuhan-lab-despite-shocking-lack-oversight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COVID-19<\/a>, specifically that Ivermectin was effective in curing the disease. This triggered a firestorm.<\/p>\n<p>Spotify was accused by critics of spreading &ldquo;misinformation,&rdquo; and the company said it would <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/30\/spotify-to-add-content-advisories-to-podcasts-with-covid-discussions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post advisories<\/a> on certain coronavirus content going forward.<\/p>\n<p>They also banned Steve Bannon&rsquo;s show &ldquo;War Room&rdquo; in 2020, after he made calls for Trump to bring down Dr. Anthony Fauci and former FBI Director Christopher Wray, by putting their &ldquo;heads on pikes.&rdquo; He was reinstated in June, Breitbart <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Breitbart\/posts\/steve-bannons-warroom-podcast-has-been-reinstated-to-spotify-after-being-blackli\/1118702943461128\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Spotify changes were triggered by a group of scientists &mdash; and people in the medical industry &mdash; signing onto a letter telling Spotify to &ldquo;take action against mass-misinformation events.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration was supportive of this move at the time &mdash; and even called for more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whos-really-to-blame-for-misinformation-online\/\" title=\"Who\u2019s Really\u00a0To Blame For ... Online?\u00a0\">social media regulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being based in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/european-leaders-furious-trump-gets-best-monumental-trade-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Europe<\/a>, Spotify is a worldwide company that is wildly popular in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>If they begin falling in line with foreign censorship laws, those regulations could eventually be applied to American users.<\/p>\n<p>In the letter, Jordan reportedly referenced an incident from August 2024, &ldquo;when Thierry Breton, who at the time was responsible for enforcing E.U. content laws, warned X and its owner Elon Musk that it may need to censor content to prevent &lsquo;potential spillovers in the E.U.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This can&rsquo;t be allowed to happen. America cannot &mdash; and will not &mdash; live under unjust laws that silence free speech.<\/p>\n<p>An investigation is a good start, but actually doing something with the findings to achieve accountability is what the public really wants.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio is leading a House Judiciary Committee inquiry into whether the E.U. and Biden administration pressured Spotify to suppress free speech. In a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Jordan condemned E.U. and U.K. laws that mandate social media platforms-including U.S.-based ones-to censor &#8220;disinformation&#8221; and &#8220;harmful content&#8221; under threat of heavy fines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2469213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Spotify-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6371,32455,3976,48875,13549],"class_list":["post-2469212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-censorship","tag-house-gop","tag-investigation","tag-podcasters","tag-spotify"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Spotify-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469212"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469216,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469212\/revisions\/2469216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}