Ads promoting Op-Ed from former British conservative politician deleted by Facebook: Daniel Hannan is a former member of the European Parliament and current member of the UK Board of Trade. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party responsible for its international relations. Advertisements promoting commentary from Hannan about the potential for perpetual authoritarianism once the pandemic is over were removed by Facebook. "Facebook first authorised the advertisements, then pulled them without explanation," wrote Hannan in a follow up piece about Facebook's actions. Hannan remarked in his follow up that Facebook offered neither an explanation for pulling the ads, "nor an open appeals process," therefore he could only guess the reasoning for Facebook's decision to pull ads promoting his commentary. Hannan does not take umbrage with Facebook's move, being that it's a private company, however, he argues that Facebook's actions destroy the idea that Facebook is merely a platform and not a publisher. By identifying itself only as a platform that accepts content from third-party sources, and not as a publisher, Facebook receives special legal protections. Facebook, "is one more opinionated channel, alongside Fox News, Russia Today, the BBC and the Morning Star," Hannan wrote.