Music streaming service Spotify has updated its terms of service to include an outright ban on ad blockers.
The change, reported by the Verge Thursday, could even see accounts found to be in violation suspended or terminated from the platform.
According to the new rules, “circumventing or blocking advertisements” as well as “creating or distributing tools designed to block advertisements” is now prohibited.
An email from the company informing users of the new guidelines states that the change will officially go into effect on March 1.
The news comes not long after Spotify revealed last year that it believed more than 2 million users of its free service had blocked ads. The company only offers ad-free streaming to paid users.
A Spotify spokesperson also stated in August that it already has numerous mechanisms in place to detect and combat ad blocking.
“We take the artificial manipulation of streaming activity on our service extremely seriously,” the spokesperson told DigiDay. “Spotify has multiple detection measures in place monitoring consumption on the service to detect, investigate and deal with such activity.”
Although Spotify previously sent warning emails to users found to be blocking ads before disabling or terminating their account, the Verge notes that the terms of service update will allow them to “terminate accounts immediately, without warning.”
The shift in policy coincides with other major announcements from the company, including the news that for the first time since its founding in 2006 Spotify was able to turn a profit.
Spotify is looking to expand as well with its recent acquisitions of Anchor and Gimlet Media as part of its effort to build its own podcasting network.
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H/T the Verge
