ABC Friends must abide by rules on ABC logo use
ABC says lobby group did not have permission to use ABC logo in political campaigning and must desist.
- Published by David Knox
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Lobby group ABC Friends has come under parliamentary scrutiny for using ABC logo in a political campaign.
At a Senate Estimates hearing last night managing director David Anderson confirmed the broadcaster had not given approval for the logo to be used in a political campaign.
ABC was alerted to its use towards the end of last week, he revealed.
“We do have rules when it comes to use of the ABC logo, particularly around election campaigns. And we do enforce that. For those other groups, such as Friends, if they’re embarking on a political campaign, then they need to also abide by those rules and not use our ABC logo when doing it,” Anderson said.
Facebook photos on ABC Friends social media (pictured below) included an ABC logo with references to Coalition funding freezes, political interference, concerns over independence of public broadcasting and urging members to “use your vote” in the upcomimg election.
NSW Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg (pictured above), who also questioned Anderson over tweets which breached ABC Social Media rules, said, “I think that any fair minded person would say that it is causing the organisation reputational damage because of the association and the ongoing link.”
ABC yesterday released a statement on the use of its content for political advertising and messaging.
“The ABC’s rights in relation to its content, logos, or intellectual property are protected under Australian copyright law, and so any intended use of ABC content or logos or any other intellectual property by political parties, candidates, or third party groups, requires the ABC’s approval,” it said.
“Approval will not be granted for any use of ABC content or logos or any other intellectual property in political advertising or political messaging. This includes broadcast advertising, print advertising, other forms of advertising including websites, and any and all social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other digital platforms.
“There is no restriction on linking to ABC content hosted on ABC platforms – but political parties, other organisations, or individuals repurposing ABC content or intellectual property on non-ABC platforms for political advertising or political messaging will be requested to immediately remove the ABC material, including from social networks or websites.”
David Anderson told Senate Estimates he was yet to hear back from ABC Friends.