Sonos has announced that it will remove ads for its speakers across Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and Twitter for a week starting Monday. In a blog post the company stated that, “We are concerned by the recent revelations about Facebook and the exploitation of its platform.” Adding to that, Sonos says its Facebook and Instagram accounts will go dark next week also:
“Big digital platforms offer us incredible opportunities to personalize and contextualize the advertising we deliver to you. But with the power of those capabilities comes a great responsibility that can’t be neglected.”
“The Cambridge Analytica scandal, like many recent headlines coming out of Silicon Valley, raises questions about whether Big Tech is doing enough to balance its own interests with one of its biggest responsibilities: safeguarding your privacy.
Sonos stated that it will make a donation in support of the RightsCon conference and plans to partake in the event this year:
“RightsCon is one of the only forums where tech companies engage directly with activists on equal terms, enabling solutions that can help forge a healthier technology ecosystem that works for everyone.” The conference runs through May 16th–18th in Toronto. RightsCon is put on by AccessNow, one of the organizations involved with Sonos’ Listen Now Campaign.
Sonos didn’t say why it chunked Google, YouTube, and Twitter with Facebook in this week-long halt of advertising, but, these companies have had their own advertising and/or privacy errors.
Sonos claims that this move is an attempt to see some changes that’s focused on user privacy:
“Some of you may ask: why not permanently abandon these platforms if we are so concerned? Despite the flaws of these massive digital networks, we fundamentally believe in the power of technology to bring us together and to create deeper, shared experiences. We have found Facebook, Instagram, and other online platforms to be incredibly effective ways to reach our customers and to share our mission as a company.”
