What’s going on with Instagram’s mysterious account bans?
Instagram users have reported an increase in mistaken account bans and suspensions for weeks. The cause is undetermined, but many users suspect AI automation is the source of the errors. Meta has not released an official statement regarding the situation.
Social media posts on platforms like Reddit and X show that Instagram users claim their accounts were banned despite no policy violations. Users also report receiving no response after submitting appeals.
According to some users, there is no direct way to contact Meta’s support team. One Reddit user stated, “I’ve already submitted multiple appeals, uploaded my ID, and tried reaching out to Meta through all the official channels, but I’ve been completely ignored. It feels like I’m shouting into a void,” regarding the ban of their personal Instagram account.
Top posts in the Instagram Reddit community have focused on the ban wave for weeks. X users are also posting on Instagram’s replies, asking the company to address the account suspensions, and a Change.org petition about the bans has accumulated over 4,000 signatures.
Some users are considering filing a class action lawsuit against Meta because of the bans.
While large internet companies inevitably encounter false positives with automated moderation systems, the recent increase in bans has led to suspicions about AI involvement. Earlier this year, Pinterest faced similar mass bans. Pinterest admitted in May that those bans resulted from an “internal error” and specified that AI moderation was not the cause.
Instagram’s bans affect both personal accounts and businesses. A Reddit user stated, “This is my livelihood, my full-time job. I heavily rely on Instagram for leads.” Another Reddit user, u/CourtShaw, a gym owner, shared, “This ban has directly affected my business and all of the hard work and branding that I’ve spent countless hours pouring into my business, my gym, and my students.”
The scale of the recent bans compared to typical false positives is difficult to ascertain without access to internal company data. As of now, Meta has not publicly acknowledged the issue.