Small business owners reliant on Meta platforms are reporting wrongful account suspensions, with many losing significant revenue as a result. Sam Enticknap, a makeup artist in Margaret River, Western Australia, says her Instagram account with 48,000 followers was suspended three weeks ago without warning, costing her an estimated 80% of bookings during the busy wedding season.
Enticknap received an email from Meta citing a reference to child sexual exploitation content, which she described as traumatic. She lost two Instagram accounts and a Facebook account permanently, and her attempts to appeal have hit a dead end. Another Western Australian business selling artificial flowers received a similar suspension notice.
Since July, numerous users globally have reported erroneous suspensions for breaching community standards, often with references to child sexual exploitation. Meta has typically been unresponsive, sending standardised rejection responses to appeals. Petitions with tens of thousands of signatures and a subreddit for affected users have emerged, with talk of a class action.
Guardian Australia reported five accounts to Meta, which said it had escalated investigations. Media coverage has led to some accounts being restored. However, Meta claims there has been no increase in incorrect suspensions, stating it takes action on policy violations and allows appeals.
For Enticknap, the suspension also means losing access to photos and messages from her late father, which were on Facebook. She has pleaded with Meta to at least retrieve her data, but to no avail.
