Photo of England cricket team huddle blocked by Facebook for being 'overtly sexual'

In a surprising turn of events, Facebook has reportedly blocked a picture of the England cricket team in a huddle for falling in the category of ‘overtly sexual’ content. The picture of the team huddle was one of the photos of a digital photo gallery that was completely blocked by the social media giant, according to a report.

The gallery contained as many as 400 photos. According to a report on the BBC, the owner of the gallery, Mike Hall, insisted that none of the 400 images featured had any ‘risque’ content. However, he could not use them on Facebook as they were restricted by the social media platform after he tried to use them as ads.

The reasons provided to ban the ad images ranged from ‘promoting weapons’ to ‘overtly sexual’ content and the England team’s photo fell in the second category. And since Facebook’s advertisement policies restrict the promotion of ‘adult products and services’, the photo of the team huddle was restricted. Apart from his gallery being restricted, Hall was also banned from putting up any ads from his account.

Facebook realizes the mistake, issues an apology

Fortunately for Hall, Facebook realized their mistake soon and his ads were reinstated. Facebook also issued an apology to the photographer and admitted that images were ‘restricted in error’. Talking about the England team’s photo that was considered ‘overtly sexual’, it was taken during the fourth Test against India at Southampton in 2018. The Test is famously remembered for being England legend Alastair Cook’s last Test.

“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. When I set up my account with Facebook I had to verify my business with them – but after that, it fell into an abyss,” said Hall.

Meanwhile, the England team is currently in India for the ongoing four-match Test series and limited-overs series. The visitors have started the tour on a thumping note by winning the first Test in Chennai by 227 runs. The second Test will get underway at the same venue from February 13. The Test series will be followed by T20I and ODI series.