Political Ads

1. Our position

Indo Mail does not accept political ads. Not from parties, not from candidates, not from governments, not from organisations that campaign on issues, and not from anyone acting on their behalf. This rule applies in every country, in every language and on every advertising product, including Indo Ads, Search Ads, Shopping Ads, Local Services Ads and the Indo Chats Ads network.

There are no exceptions, no special accounts, no pre-approved advertisers and no paid route around this rule. A larger budget does not change the answer.

We chose this position for three reasons. First, free and fair elections depend on voters trusting what they see, and an email service is a poor place to prove that every claim in a political ad is true. Second, our advertising is contextual and low-cost, so it could be used to flood people with messages in a short time. Third, we are a small team in India, and we would rather do a clear thing well than try to police a complex area badly.

2. What we mean by a political ad

An ad is political if it does any of the following, in text, image, link or the page it leads to:

• Promotes, supports or opposes a political party, a candidate, an elected official, a person standing for office, or a coalition.
• Asks people to vote, not to vote, to register to vote, or to take part in any election, referendum or recall, in India or anywhere else.
• Asks for donations, membership or volunteers for a party, candidate, or political campaign.
• Argues for or against a bill, a law, a court case, a government scheme or policy in order to influence public opinion about an election or about a political decision.
• Promotes a political rally, march, protest or movement that aims to influence government action.
• Is paid for or run by a political party, a candidate, a campaign committee, a political action group, or a government department or public body in order to influence opinion on a contested political question.
• Attacks or praises public figures because of their political activity or party.
• Is what is commonly called issue advertising: advertising that takes a side on a matter of national or state-level political debate.

3. What is not a political ad

Some advertising looks close to politics but is not covered by this policy. We treat the following as ordinary ads, still subject to the Advertising Platform rules:

• Books, newspapers, magazines and news subscriptions that cover politics, as long as the ad itself does not take a side or ask people to vote.
• Educational courses on civics, law, public administration or exam preparation for government jobs.
• Government service information that is not trying to win support, for example a notice about how to apply for a document or when an office is open. Such notices must not carry a party name, party symbol or the face of a political leader.
• Non-political social causes, such as blood-donation drives, health camps and disaster relief appeals run by registered charities. These must not name or favour any party, candidate or government policy.
• Merchandise sold for sport, cultural or entertainment reasons, with no party symbol or political slogan.
• Public-interest voter education messages from the Election Commission of India or from state election officers about how to vote. These are not asking people to choose a party or candidate. Even so, we review them one by one, and we may route them through unpaid, non-advertising channels.

If you are not sure whether your ad is political, write to ads@indoemail.in before you create the campaign. We will tell you in writing.

4. Elections and the Model Code of Conduct

India's elections are overseen by the Election Commission of India. During an election period, the Commission's Model Code of Conduct applies to parties, candidates and governments. The Code asks them to avoid corrupt practices, misuse of official position and campaigns based on religion, caste or community. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 also sets out election offences and rules about expenses and publicity.

Indo Mail does not decide who may campaign. Our rule is simpler: we do not carry political advertising at all. This means we are never in the position of judging whether a particular ad respects the Model Code, whether it carries the right pre-certification, or whether its spending counts against a candidate's limit.

During the announced election period, we pay extra attention. We may increase manual review of new advertisers, search keywords and landing pages. We may pause any campaign that appears to be political while we check it. We respond to lawful directions from the Election Commission of India and from officers acting under its authority.

5. Ads from outside India

The same rule applies to political ads about other countries. An ad about a foreign election is political, and so is an ad that tries to influence an Indian election from abroad. We do not accept either.

6. Hidden and indirect political advertising

Some advertisers try to avoid the rule. The following are also not allowed, and we treat them as political ads:

• Ads that look like ordinary business ads but lead to a page with political messages, donation buttons or party symbols.
• Ads that pretend to be news, polls or surveys while really supporting one side.
• Ads placed by agencies, consultants or "independent" pages that are in fact paid by a party or a candidate.
• Keywords or ad text that use party names, candidate names, election slogans or hashtags to attract people to non-political content in order to change their opinion.
• Fake accounts, fake advertiser names, or changing the page after approval to political content.
• Ads that spread false claims about voting dates, places, methods, eligibility or results.

7. How we find political ads

We use three layers.

• Review before running. Every ad is checked by a person before it is shown. Reviewers look at the headline, text, image, landing page and keywords against this policy.
• Checks after approval. Landing pages can change. We check them again at random and when we receive a report.
• Reports from the public. Anyone can report a political ad. Write to abuse@indoemail.in with a screenshot and, if possible, the page where you saw it. We confirm receipt and act quickly.

8. What happens when a political ad is found

The steps depend on how serious and how deliberate the case is.

When a political ad is removed, any spend charged for it is refunded to the advertiser's balance, unless the advertiser deliberately evaded this policy.

9. Appeals

If you think we made a mistake, you can appeal. Write to ads@indoemail.in and explain why your ad is not political. Include the campaign name and the page it leads to. A person who was not part of the first decision looks at your appeal and replies within seven days. We will not reopen a decision if the ad is clearly political under the definitions above.

10. Your own email is a different matter

This policy is only about paid advertising. It does not limit what people say in their own email, or who they write to. People remain free to discuss politics in private mail and to support the causes they choose. Our Acceptable Use rules still apply to everyone: spam, harassment, impersonation and unlawful content are not allowed, whether or not they involve politics.

We never read a person's mail to decide which ads they see. Political or not, no ad is ever chosen from the content of anyone's email.

11. Common questions

• Can a registered charity run an ad about a political issue? No. If the ad takes a side on a political question, it is political, whoever pays for it.
• Can a news publisher advertise an election special? The publisher may advertise its product, such as a subscription, if the ad does not take a side or tell people how to vote.
• Can I advertise a book by a politician? Only if the ad is about the book and does not promote the person's candidacy, party or campaign.
• What if my ad was approved by mistake? Approval does not make an ad allowed. We can remove it as soon as we see the problem.

12. Changes to this policy

We may change this policy as the law or our products change. We will not remove the ban on political advertising without giving advertisers and the public at least 30 days' notice on indoemail.in, and we do not plan to do so.

13. Contact

To ask whether an ad is allowed, write to ads@indoemail.in. To report a political ad, write to abuse@indoemail.in. For concerns about how we handled a complaint, write to grievance@indoemail.in. The Salena, Grievance Officer, INDO CHATS PRIVATE LIMITED, acknowledges within 24 hours and resolves within 7 days.

INDO CHATS PRIVATE LIMITED, 168, GT Rd, near Aloka Cinema, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal 711102, India.

This document is governed by the laws of India.