Social media platform, Facebook has banned a couple of advertisements posted by a small digital photo gallery owner that had images of wildlife, landscapes and building, calling it ‘overtly sexual’. One of the photographs also contained a group picture of the England cricket team.
In a report of the BBC, Mike Hall’s business page had images against facebook’s policies which object to adult content promotion on its platform, to which Mike said his images have "nothing risque".
The Winchester based photographers images that came under scrutiny were:-
The ads, however, were later restored with Facebook apologising for the error.
The England cricket team huddle image is from the 4th test match between India and England that is going on in Southampton.
"When you're running a small business or any business where you're trying to figure out what's gone wrong, you can't have an arbitrary process with no-one to talk to," Mr Hall told BBC.
"When I set up my account with Facebook I had to verify my business with them - but after that, it fell into an abyss,” he added.
Mike also informed that Google has offered him on how to navigate its advertising options.
However, Mr Hall said he will continue his business on Facebook as one can’t rely on Google alone, “you need as many channels as possible - especially during the pandemic when you can't promote your work in public spaces or cafes,” he added.
Social media platforms like that of Facebook earn large revenue from advertisements and the majority of them come from small businesses rather than big brands.