Streaming app company Spotify has bought harmful content detection specialist Kinzen for an undisclosed sum, the latest step in its attempt to prevent unsavoury audio being distributed on its platform.
Kinzen has provided services to Spotify since 2020, using machine learning and human expertise from local academics and media to analyse audio and detect questionable content in hundreds of languages and dialects.
Spotify noted the acquisition of its partner would aid it in understanding the “abuse landscape” and better identify emerging threats. It added Kinzen’s technology was especially suited to assessing podcasts, a format which forms a major part of the streaming company’s consumer offering.
Dustee Jenkins, global head of public affairs with Spotify, explained the acquisition will improve its abilities to address harmful content in “a way that better considers local context”.
The move is part of the company’s ongoing attempts to improve safety and keep harmful content off its platform, and comes at a time when online providers are being pushed by regulators to address the distribution of illegal and dangerous material.
