Summary
Instagram mistakenly accused some users of violating its child sexual abuse policies, leading to account bans. After being brought to Meta's attention by the BBC, these accounts were quickly reinstated. Many users reported stress and other negative impacts due to these wrongful bans.
Key Facts
- Instagram incorrectly banned some users, accusing them of breaking rules on child sexual exploitation.
- Meta, Instagram's parent company, reinstated accounts after media coverage.
- Over 100 people contacted the BBC claiming their accounts were wrongly banned.
- Users experienced stress and loss of income or personal memories due to bans.
- A petition with over 27,000 signatures claims Meta's AI system wrongly bans accounts.
- Users voiced concerns on Reddit and social media about false bans.
- Meta has not publicly commented on this issue.
- The appeals process used AI-generated responses, which frustrated affected users.
