Angry, confused and worried about police – behind Instagram bans

Instagram users informed the BBC of their confusion, their fear and their anger after being suspended, often for having been wrongly accused by the parent company Meta of having violated the rules of the sexual abuse of the platform children.

For months, tens of thousands of people around the world have complained about Meta prohibiting their Instagram and Facebook accounts in mistake.

They say they were wrongly accused of having violated the rules of the site – including around the sexual exploitation of children.

More than 500 of them have contacted the BBC to say that they had lost darling photos and saw upset companies – but some also talk about the deep personal toll he has taken on them, including concerns that the police could get involved.

Meta recognized a problem with the wrong ban on Facebook groups in June, but denied that there is a wider problem on Facebook or Instagram.

He has repeatedly refused to comment on the problems with which his users face – although he has frequently reversed prohibitions when the BBC raised individual cases with him.

Here are some stories that users have shared with BBC News.

Yassmine Boussihmed, 26, from the Netherlands, spent five years building an Instagram profile for her dress shop in Eindhoven.

In April, it was prohibited for the integrity of the account. More than 5,000 subscribers, missing in an instant. She lost customers and was devastated.

“I put all my confidence in social media, and social media helped me grow, but that dropped me,” she told the BBC.

This week, after the BBC sent questions about its case to the Meta press office, its Instagram accounts were restored.

“I am so grateful,” she said in a voice note in tears.

Five minutes later, his personal Instagram was suspended again – but the dress store account remained.

Lucia, not her real name, is a 21 -year -old woman from Austin, Texas.

It was suspended from Instagram for a little more than two weeks for violating Meta’s policy on children’s sexual exploitation (CSE), abuses and nudity.

As with all the other cases, he was not told what has broken the rules of the platform.

This suggested if a photo she published by herself and her 21-year-old friend with Bikini’s heights has somehow triggered the tools of moderation of artificial intelligence (IA), because she thinks they “seem a little younger”.

She also uses her account to interact with those under 18, such as sending reels to her younger sister.

“It is deeply disturbing to have a accusation as disgusting as it is,” she told BBC News.

“Since I have the desire to work in justice for minors as a lawyer and defender on behalf of the children, I am dismayed to have been suspended for something I know that I did not do and I would never do.”

She called on, then about seven hours after the BBC stressed the case of Lucia at the Meta press office, her account was restored without explanation.

More than 36,000 people have signed a petition accusing the falsely retention of accounts; Thousands of others are in the Reddit forums or on social media on this subject.

Their central accusation – Meta AI unfairly prohibits people, technology is also used to cope with calls. The only way to speak to a human is to pay Meta verified, and even then, many are frustrated.

Meta did not comment on these statements. Instagram States IA is at the heart of its “content examination process” and Meta described how technology and humans apply its policies.

Duncan Edmonstone, from Cheshire, has alk + stadium lung cancer. The 55 -year -old man finds comfort in the support network he has on private Facebook groups.

For 12 days at the end of June, it was prohibited to have broken the cybersecurity guidelines before being restored.

“Support groups are my life buoy, and there are real examples where the group’s members’ advice made a difference for the treatment of other patients,” he said.

“I attract satisfaction and meaning, in a life that will probably be interrupted, to help others in this group.”

Ryan – Not his real name – has been prohibited, restored and prohibited from Instagram again in recent months.

The former London professor was thrown from the platform in May after being accused of having violated the CSE policy.

He spent a month attractive. In June, the BBC understands that a human moderator is double verification and concluded that Ryan had violated politics.

Then his account was suddenly restored at the end of July.

“We are sorry that we have deceived ourselves,” said Instagram in an email, adding that he had done nothing wrong.

Ryan is left stunned.

“‘Sorry, we called you a pedophile for two months – here is your account,” “This is how it characterized the tone of the message.

But it was not the end of the story.

A few hours after the BBC contacted Meta’s press office to ask his experience, he was again prohibited on Instagram and, for the first time, Facebook.

“I am devastated and I don’t know what to do,” he told the BBC.

“I can’t believe it happened twice.”

His Facebook account was back two days later – but he was still blocked on Instagram.

Ryan says he found himself deeply isolated – and feared that the police “knock on the door”.

His experience reflects those of other Instagram users who said to the BBC “extreme stress” of having prohibited their accounts after being wrongly accused of having violated the rules of the ESC platform.

Despite the measures on Yassmine, Lucia and Ryan, Meta made no comments at the BBC.

In common with all large technological companies, she has undergone the authorities to make her platforms safer.

In July, Meta said that she was taking “aggressive measures” on accounts that break her rules – including the deletion of 635,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts on comments and sexualized images compared to children.

Meta’s extensive policy on the sexual exploitation of children has changed three times since the day after Christmas last year, all the changes occurring since July 17.

He did not say what impact, if necessary, these changes had on cases that the BBC raised with it.