Instagram users have been complaining for weeks about a massive increase in accounts being accidentally banned or suspended. Many suspect that the issue may be related to the use of AI automation without direct evidence.
To date, Meta has not provided a record statement to date.
A growing number of social media posts, including sites like Reddit and X, have found that Instagram users have reported that their accounts have been banned despite not violating the company's terms of service or other policies. Additionally, when they filed an appeal to review the account, some allegedly had no response.
Others point out that there is no other way to contact members of Meta's support team directly, leaving them tempered what to do next.
“I have already submitted multiple appeals, uploaded my ID and tried to reach out to Meta through all the official channels, but it's completely ignored. I feel like I'm screaming at Boyd.”
(Please note that Meta offers verified account subscriptions for creators and businesses that provide priority access to customer service.)
The Instagram Reddit Community top post focuses almost entirely on the banned wave, and has been going on for weeks. On X, users plead with their Instagram reply that they do something about the suspension of their account, or at least have publicly admitted the issue. The change.org petition regarding the ban currently has over 4,000 signatures.
The situation is so tense that some people are now threatening to file a class action lawsuit against META.
Of course, large internet companies inevitably encounter a certain number of false positives due to their reliance on automated moderation systems. However, the ban on excessive numbers is a more recent focus, and many quickly suspect that AI is at fault.
For example, Pinterest was facing a similar problem with a mass ban earlier this year. This caused users to complain that their actions and posts were not violating the company's policies. Another group of users was threatening legal action against the ban at the time. Pinterest in May finally admitted that the massive ban is a mistake caused by “internal errors,” but does not identify the exact cause. The company argued that the error was not due to AI moderation.
With Instagram, the problem not only affects the personal use of the app, but also the people's livelihoods.
“This is my living and my full-time job. I rely heavily on Instagram for my lead,” writes about the suspension of one Reddit user (U/Paigejust).
“The ban directly impacted my business and all the hard work and branding I spent countless hours on my business, the gym and my students,” shared by the owner of the gym at Reddit (U/Courtshaw).
Without access to internal business data, it is difficult from the outside to know whether recent bans represent a typical rise in false positive numbers. To date, Meta has not publicly acknowledged this issue.
Additionally, some affected Instagram users report that they are falsely prohibited due to serious crimes, including CSE (sexual exploitation of children). They pointed out that this was a career, a reputational accusation and made them very concerned.