Social media giant Facebook is demanding that New York University should stop a research project into the platform’s targeting practices for political ads, saying it is a violation of terms to collect user data, according a report by AFP.

Laura Edelson, a PhD student and researcher with NYU Ad Observatory, in a post, said a week ago, she received a cease and desist order from Facebook asking them to take down AdObserver and delete the data. “The public has a right to know how political ads are targeted, so we will not be complying with this request,” she added.

Facebook has been scrutinised in the past for its policies and with just 10 days until the US election, it is under a radar for the role it plays in campaigning, and the way candidates and political groups use the social media network to influence voters.

The researchers are collecting information using an extension, or plugin, called AdObserver that can be installed on a web browser and copies Facebook ads into a public database.

Edelson and others are tracking information such as which profiles are targeted by which types of ads.

Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne said they informed NYU months ago that the project violates their policies. He added that their Ad Library, accessed by more than 2 million people every month, including NYU, already provides more transparency into political and issue advertising than TV, radio or any other digital ad platform.

The researchers feel different and said the system is not perfect.

“Our cybersecurity analysis shows vulnerability in Facebook’s transparency algorithms that reveals they routinely miss including political ads in its public archive,” she said.

California-based Facebook has tightened its rules on political advertising ahead of the 2020 election. In particular, it has prohibited attempts to undermine the electoral process and banning certain racist or xenophobic statements. The social media network is also banning new political advertising in the week before the November 3 election.

Facebook told NYU to stop the project by the end of November, but did not specify what would happen if it continued.