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Meta users continue to report disabled accounts
Дата публикации: 23-04-2026 15:29:56
NBC 5 Responds is hearing from people who say their social media accounts were mistakenly banned over a serious accusation. They said they lost photos, contacts, and even income.
For years, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has said it developed AI and machine learning technology to fight child exploitation on its platform. Meta said it’s now experimenting with integrating more advanced AI systems in its content enforcement process.
It also said humans will still handle high-impact enforcement decisions, like the final call about disabled accounts and contacting law enforcement.
Some social media users tell us they didn’t break platform rules. They said they believe AI made a mistake banning their accounts.
NBC 5 covered this story in February. Since then, dozens more social media users said they were accused by the algorithm.
‘SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO’
Thirty-five people are telling NBC 5 the same thing: Meta disabled their accounts – citing community standards on child exploitation, abuse and nudity. Some sent us screenshots that said Meta had to report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Each user that contacted us told us they didn’t break any rules.
“Just something I would never ever do or violate,” said Sara Schultz.
Meta said it’s using more AI to enforce its overall community standards. The Meta users, who contacted us, said they believe automated systems made a mistake when Meta flagged their accounts.
“This is years of memories that I would like to get back,” said Iman Tsao.
Tsao told NBC 5 she had her account for 14 years without a previous issue or warning.
“The consequences were detrimental on my conscience and my heart,” said Brittany Hamilton. “I did not like being accused of something that was absolutely not true.”
Brittany Hamilton used Instagram and Facebook for her photography business. Locked out for eight months, Hamilton said she couldn’t reach anyone at Meta.
“You mean to tell me that this company has billions of dollars and I can’t physically talk to someone who has taken so much from me?” Hamilton asked.
After our report in February, Hamilton contacted NBC 5 Responds. We emailed Meta’s press team. Within two weeks, Hamilton received a notification from Meta that said it’s technology made a mistake. The message didn’t specifically mention AI.
“I’ve lost months of sleep over it,” Hamilton said. “So, for it be like, oh, oops, sorry. Now you have it all back.”
Since February, we’ve asked Meta about 35 people. A spokesperson told me Meta is looking into the list. Later, at least 10 of the 35 accounts told us they were reinstated. Others told us they were still banned.
The social media account users said Meta didn’t provide information about what post or interaction flagged their accounts. We haven’t independently confirmed what was posted or what led to each account ban.
SEARCHING FOR SUPPORT
“I’ve lost a 15-year business that is essentially gone,” said Teshia MacQuarrie of Pennsylvania.
MacQuarrie believes her Facebook was hacked, then banned. MacQuarrie told us she paid for Meta Verified for her Instagram account, which wasn’t linked to her personal and business Facebook accounts. It offers “enhanced” support. MacQuarrie told us support wasn’t able to get her account back.
“She advised that I could create a new account and told me all of the details about how I could go about it, that I needed different credentials and kind of walked me through that,” MacQuarrie said.
We asked Meta about this. It didn’t respond with an answer to that question.
Meta and other big tech companies have been under pressure to make platforms safer. Juries in two separate cases recently ruled against Meta in legal battles over child safety. It told NBC News it planned to appeal.
Last year, Meta announced new child safety features, saying it was taking aggressive action to remove accounts. It reported its automated enforcement was getting more precise.
In March, this Meta Community Standards Enforcement Report mentions an over 100 percent increase in false positives during a brief period in the fourth quarter of 2025. It said it was caused by a bug.
We asked Meta’s press team if the bug impacted accounts flagged for child exploitation. A spokesperson said she’s checking on our questions. We haven’t heard back.
Meta says it uses a combination of automated and human review. In past reporting, Meta told our NBC Connecticut colleagues, “We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we’ve made mistake.”
“It offered me an option to appeal, but within minutes I was denied,” Tsao said of her appeal.
She said she couldn’t reach a person at Meta to ask if a human looked at her account.
“I’m grateful that they have those safety features in place. I just wish that there was a way that if someone accidentally or by mistake was flagged, that there was a way that they can speak to someone,” said Tsao.
Meta says its apps reach 3.9 billion active users every month. A number equivalent to nearly half the world’s population.
“AI is not going away,” said Dr. Janet Johnson, associate professor at the University of Texas at Dallas
We asked Dr. Johnson about how platforms respond to user complaints. She studies social media.
“The weaknesses are showing so what are they going to do to step up and fix this problem?” asked Johnson. “And sometimes they step back and they correct their problems, so they’re going to have to figure out, these companies, all of them, not just Facebook, how far can AI take us in customer service before we lose the customer?”
MORE AI
Meta announced it is investing in more AI tools to handle user support questions in the Instagram and Facebook apps. It writes it’s faster than traditional help center searches. Meta also wrote it’s rolling out Meta AI support assistant to people who can’t log into their accounts – starting with select cases in the U.S. and Canada.
Some users said Meta is so big, it may not have to provide ways to reach human customer support.
“Why they don’t have a way to reach them is just mind boggling to me, but also, it’s Meta. So clearly, they can do whatever they want and people are still users of their platforms,” said Schultz.
Schultz got her account back a few days after we asked Meta about it. We told her to back up important videos and photos somewhere else.
Hamilton told us this experience pushed her to create her first website.
“Meta has a lot of power over your business,” said Hamilton.
On April 23, MacQuarrie told NBC 5 Responds that she regained access to her two Facebook accounts. She said she’d initially lost access in January.
Social media users also told us they dealt with scams while trying to find help. Hamilton said a web search for customer support directed her to a phone number. She said she realized it was a scam when the person on the phone wanted access to her payment apps.
Be wary of any promises to help recover social media accounts.
To help secure accounts, make sure you’re following all of the social media platforms’ guidelines. Check that your age is accurate. Set up two-factor authentication to make it harder for a hacker to get into your accounts.
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NBC 5 Responds is hearing from people who say their social media accounts were mistakenly banned over a serious accusation. They said they lost photos, contacts, and even income.
For years, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has said it developed AI and machine learning technology to fight child exploitation on its platform. Meta said it's now experimenting with integrating more advanced AI systems in its content enforcement process.
It also said humans will still handle high-impact enforcement decisions, like the final call about disabled accounts and contacting law enforcement.
Some social media users tell us they didn’t break platform rules. They said they believe AI made a mistake banning their accounts.
NBC 5 covered this story in February. Since then, dozens more social media users said they were accused by the algorithm.
‘SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO’Thirty-five people are telling NBC 5 the same thing: Meta disabled their accounts – citing community standards on child exploitation, abuse and nudity. Some sent us screenshots that said Meta had to report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Each user that contacted us told us they didn’t break any rules.
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“Just something I would never ever do or violate,” said Sara Schultz.
Meta said it’s using more AI to enforce its overall community standards. The Meta users, who contacted us, said they believe automated systems made a mistake when Meta flagged their accounts.
“This is years of memories that I would like to get back,” said Iman Tsao.
Tsao told NBC 5 she had her account for 14 years without a previous issue or warning.
“The consequences were detrimental on my conscience and my heart,” said Brittany Hamilton. “I did not like being accused of something that was absolutely not true.”
Brittany Hamilton used Instagram and Facebook for her photography business. Locked out for eight months, Hamilton said she couldn’t reach anyone at Meta.
“You mean to tell me that this company has billions of dollars and I can't physically talk to someone who has taken so much from me?” Hamilton asked.
After our report in February, Hamilton contacted NBC 5 Responds. We emailed Meta’s press team. Within two weeks, Hamilton received a notification from Meta that said it’s technology made a mistake. The message didn’t specifically mention AI.
“I’ve lost months of sleep over it,” Hamilton said. “So, for it be like, oh, oops, sorry. Now you have it all back.”
Since February, we’ve asked Meta about 35 people. A spokesperson told me Meta is looking into the list. Later, at least 10 of the 35 accounts told us they were reinstated. Others told us they were still banned.
The social media account users said Meta didn’t provide information about what post or interaction flagged their accounts. We haven’t independently confirmed what was posted or what led to each account ban.
SEARCHING FOR SUPPORT“I’ve lost a 15-year business that is essentially gone,” said Teshia MacQuarrie of Pennsylvania.
MacQuarrie believes her Facebook was hacked, then banned. MacQuarrie told us she paid for Meta Verified for her Instagram account, which wasn’t linked to her personal and business Facebook accounts. It offers “enhanced” support. MacQuarrie told us support wasn’t able to get her account back.
“She advised that I could create a new account and told me all of the details about how I could go about it, that I needed different credentials and kind of walked me through that,” MacQuarrie said.
We asked Meta about this. It didn’t respond with an answer to that question.
Meta and other big tech companies have been under pressure to make platforms safer. Juries in two separate cases recently ruled against Meta in legal battles over child safety. It told NBC News it planned to appeal.
Last year, Meta announced new child safety features, saying it was taking aggressive action to remove accounts. It reported its automated enforcement was getting more precise.
In March, this Meta Community Standards Enforcement Report mentions an over 100 percent increase in false positives during a brief period in the fourth quarter of 2025. It said it was caused by a bug.
We asked Meta’s press team if the bug impacted accounts flagged for child exploitation. A spokesperson said she's checking on our questions. We haven’t heard back.
Meta says it uses a combination of automated and human review. In past reporting, Meta told our NBC Connecticut colleagues, “We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we’ve made mistake.”
“It offered me an option to appeal, but within minutes I was denied,” Tsao said of her appeal.
She said she couldn’t reach a person at Meta to ask if a human looked at her account.
“I’m grateful that they have those safety features in place. I just wish that there was a way that if someone accidentally or by mistake was flagged, that there was a way that they can speak to someone,” said Tsao.
Meta says its apps reach 3.9 billion active users every month. A number equivalent to nearly half the world’s population.
“AI is not going away,” said Dr. Janet Johnson, associate professor at the University of Texas at Dallas
We asked Dr. Johnson about how platforms respond to user complaints. She studies social media.
“The weaknesses are showing so what are they going to do to step up and fix this problem?” asked Johnson. “And sometimes they step back and they correct their problems, so they're going to have to figure out, these companies, all of them, not just Facebook, how far can AI take us in customer service before we lose the customer?”
MORE AIMeta announced it is investing in more AI tools to handle user support questions in the Instagram and Facebook apps. It writes it’s faster than traditional help center searches. Meta also wrote it’s rolling out Meta AI support assistant to people who can’t log into their accounts - starting with select cases in the U.S. and Canada.
Some users said Meta is so big, it may not have to provide ways to reach human customer support.
“Why they don't have a way to reach them is just mind boggling to me, but also, it's Meta. So clearly, they can do whatever they want and people are still users of their platforms,” said Schultz.
Schultz got her account back a few days after we asked Meta about it. We told her to back up important videos and photos somewhere else.
Hamilton told us this experience pushed her to create her first website.
“Meta has a lot of power over your business,” said Hamilton.
On April 23, MacQuarrie told NBC 5 Responds that she regained access to her two Facebook accounts. She said she’d initially lost access in January.
Social media users also told us they dealt with scams while trying to find help. Hamilton said a web search for customer support directed her to a phone number. She said she realized it was a scam when the person on the phone wanted access to her payment apps.
Be wary of any promises to help recover social media accounts.
To help secure accounts, make sure you’re following all of the social media platforms’ guidelines. Check that your age is accurate. Set up two-factor authentication to make it harder for a hacker to get into your accounts.
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