Tech

Spotify opens new front in war on fair use

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 06/10/2026, 23:16:25 UTC.

Briefings

In October 2026, Spotify removed a podcast titled 'Ribsy Detected' by Beverly Cleary due to content detection algorithms flagging the work as infringing. The podcast, hosted by John McCoy and Phil Gonzales, consisted of one hour of critical commentary on Cleary's books, with only a few seconds of direct quoting. Spotify's automated tools matched the podcast's transcript to Cleary's book text, triggering removals despite the episode's content being a clear example of fair use. The author notes that Spotify's approach prioritizes revenue protection over legal principles, potentially stifling fair use on the internet. The author also criticized Spotify's business model for consuming adjacent content and removed their account, though they acknowledge the company later restored the episodes after an appeal. The evidence is limited to the author's personal experience and their own analysis of the incident.

Key points

• Spotify removed a podcast episode titled 'Ribsy Detected' by Beverly Cleary in October 2026 due to automated content detection matching the podcast transcript to Cleary's book text.
• The podcast episode was a clear example of fair use, containing one hour of critical commentary with only a few seconds of direct quoting from Cleary's work.

Context and limitations

The evidence is limited to the author's personal experience and their own analysis of the incident. The specific number of direct quotes used in the podcast is not provided, and the exact date of the initial removal is not specified.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 06/10/2026, 23:18:23 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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