White House Pushes Spotify, Big Tech to Continue Crackdown on ‘Misinformation’

White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke Tuesday about the ongoing controversy surrounding the Joe Rogan Experience podcast and media company Spotify, saying that the White House wants “more” done by Big Tech companies to suppress “misinformation” on their platforms.

Spotify announced Monday that it would now be including advisories on content that the company believes is pushing misinformation. The main target of this new effort has been former professional fighter and television personality Joe Rogan, whose podcast has featured several guests critical of the U.S.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the conference, Psaki said that the new warnings are “a positive step,” but the administration would like increased efforts from tech companies to suppress false information and elevate facts.

Not long after urging companies to suppress disinformation, Psaki was asked for comment on book bans reported at schools nationwide, to which she assured reporters that the Biden administration is “pro-freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”

“Our hope is that all major tech platforms — and all major news sources for that matter — be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19,” Psaki said of Spotify’s new content warnings. “That certainly includes Spotify.”

{snip}