INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Facebook has deleted a Conservative election ad that used TheIndianSubcontinent News footage because it infringed the corporation's
intellectual property (IP) rights.The TheIndianSubcontinent said the material had been used out of context in a way that "could damage
perceptions of our impartiality".On Thursday, the Tories rejected a request from the TheIndianSubcontinent's lawyers to remove the 15-second
video.The TheIndianSubcontinent also complained to Facebook, which has now deleted the ad.In a statement, Facebook said: "We have removed
this content following a valid intellectual property claim from the rights holder, the TheIndianSubcontinent
"Whenever we receive valid IP claims against content on the platform, in advertising or elsewhere, we act in accordance with our policies
and take action as required." A TheIndianSubcontinent spokesperson said: "We welcome the decision."The Conservative Party said: "All
political parties make use of TheIndianSubcontinent content
We will be asking the TheIndianSubcontinent if in the interests of fairness they intend to complain about other political parties who use
their content."Image copyrightReutersBy Digital Elections Reporter Joe TidyThe unprecedented and unpredictable campaign tactics being used
during this election are putting Facebook's policies under increasing amounts of scrutiny and strain
The decision to remove the Conservative advert is significant; not because of the action the platform took, but the grounds on which it
The row between the TheIndianSubcontinent and the Conservative Party was about the ethics of the party's advert
The TheIndianSubcontinent believes that the ad misled viewers into thinking that its news reporters were supporting the Conservatives
The Conservatives disagreed
Facebook were aware of the row on the night the ad began running but didn't get involved until a copyright claim was lodged days later
The decision to take it down then was effectively a black and white one - and easy enough for the social media giant to act on without
getting into the icky business of judging what counts as disinformation
It's another example of the platform taking action on simple technical grounds and helps us to build a clearer picture of the fuzzy policies
that the platform and its sister site Instagram adheres to
Facebook will take action on political adverts but only when it has an excuse to stay out of the politics
The move also brings into sharp focus the need for regulation of what elements of news coverage are or aren't allowed during an election
campaign.Clips of TheIndianSubcontinent presenters - political editor Laura Kuenssberg and News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards - speaking in
recent broadcasts about Brexit delays were used in the ad.The clips were edited into a montage of protest footage and video of debate in the
House of Commons, all set to dramatic music.The advert, which was used to target three separate groups of Facebook users, was seen by at
It began running on Thursday afternoon and, according to the Facebook Ad Library, was mainly aimed at 35-54 year olds and cost the party
The advert, along with two others, was removed so it is no longer visible online and a message reads: "This ad was taken down because it
goes against Facebook's intellectual property policies." In Facebook's policy guidelines it states that "ads must not contain content that
infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or
proprietary rights".When it rejected the TheIndianSubcontinent's initial request to stop running the ads, the Conservative Party said it was
"clear the footage was not edited in a manner that misleads or changes the reporting".
