PHOENIX — For months, the Let ABC15 Know team has received dozens of emails from people who were devastated that their social media accounts were suspended. Many tell us they were wrongfully flagged for violating community standards.
"I was really frustrated, upset. I was like, ‘What's going on here?’" said James from Flourish Roses, a family-owned rose garden in Mesa.
Last month, his wife Simone received a notification that one of her personal accounts had violated Meta's community standards for "child nudity and sexual exploitation."
"That was completely shocking, because, like, we know we didn't do that. And so, there's nothing to tell you, like, which comment, which post," Simone explained.
The situation quickly escalated when Simone discovered the suspension had spread beyond just that one account.
"Then, I started going through my other accounts, and I realized every single account that was related to my main account, they were all suspended," she said.
Simone immediately filed an appeal, but it was denied within minutes.
"It's, it's infuriating. It's frustrating. It's sad. It's disheartening. It's literally like, just watching your house burn down and you can't do anything about it," James said.
"Every single account, all of our Facebook groups and pages, there is nowhere to say, 'Hey, this happened to us.' It's as if we disappeared," Simone said.
The couple started doing some research and discovered they were far from alone. Thousands of people around the world have reported similar issues with Meta account suspensions.
There’s even a change.org petition with more than 50,000 signatures from people impacted by this issue.
James and Simone tried multiple avenues to recover their accounts.
"We emailed meta. We emailed escalations at Instagram, tagged all the news outlets, our congressmen, whatever was needed," James said.
The timing couldn't have been worse for their business.
"We're right in smack dab in the middle of our growing season. This is the best time to plant roses in Arizona. So, we lost a lot of revenue," Simone added.
The Let ABC15 Know team contacted Meta and provided them with a list of suspended accounts to investigate.
Meta sent a statement saying: "We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake."
However, James and Simone say the appeal process needs significant changes.
"We lost trust in Meta. We lost trust in Instagram," James said.
"They make it challenging, and it shouldn't be challenging. The appeal process should be easy. You should be able to have someone that you can communicate with. And there's nothing," Simone said.
Meta recently announced improvements for users who need to recover their accounts.
The company says in the news release, “Your accounts are where your memories, conversations, and connections live. Protecting them is a responsibility we take seriously, which is why we’re always working to strengthen account security and make it easier for you to get the help you need. We also recognize that support hasn’t always met expectations, and we’re committed to improving by continually investing in better support experiences for everyone who uses our apps.
Today, we’re rolling out new, easier ways to get account support and sharing updates we’ve made to keep your Facebook and Instagram accounts even more secure through advancements in AI."
The company says it will now be easier for people to access 24-7 account support and added that there will be more recovery and support tools coming in 2026.
Making it Easier to Access Account Support on Facebook and Instagram
We are happy to report that Simone and James were finally able to regain access to their accounts.
"It was like relief, like, I think we cried a lot. We're like, ‘This can't be happening!’ Like, this is finally back," James said.
Do you have a consumer problem that you need help with? Let ABC15 Know! Email Consumer@abc15.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
