7 On Your Side helps restore Facebook, Instagram accounts erroneously linked to predatory behavior
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Meta recently banned 600,000 accounts linked to predatory behavior in a teen safety push. But some Facebook and Instagram users say they think they got mistakenly swept up in the crackdown. Despite their appeals, it took 7 On Your Side to get their accounts restored.
Charles Fossett-Lee owns My Gym Santa Barbara. The business offers children from three months to 15 years old a non-competitive gymnastics program. Fossett-Lee was stunned when Meta pulled down the company's Instagram and Facebook accounts, as well as a personal account and even this Instagram account for Fossett-Lee's dog Miss Odyn the Huskey.
"It's unfair like it's so unfair," said Fossett-Lee.
Fossett-Lee was one of several viewers who recently reached out to 7 On Your Side for help for deactivated social media accounts. Diego Urbina was another.
Meta gave both users the same explanation.
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"I was given the reason for believe it or not child sexual exploitation at 19 years old," said Urbina.
"Did I post something? Did I show a kid's stomach," said Fossett-Lee.
The impact was more than just an inconvenience. Fossett-Lee's business took a hit.
"That's how we get a lot of traction into the gym is from social media, people sharing," said Fossett-Lee.
"You're hurting people's livelihood," he continued.
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While Urbina lost years of pictures and shared memories with family and friends.
"It was really upsetting for me to realize that everything that I'd built up over those years was just gone in an instant," said Urbina.
Both appealed the decision.
"Not even a minute later it said I got denied and I was still violating the rules for child sexual exploitation," said Urbina.
7 On Your Side investigative reporter Melanie Woodrow reached out to Meta. In an emailed statement a spokesperson writes, "We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake."
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Meta agreed to review the handles of the users who reached out to us and while Urbina and Fossett-Lee's appeals fell flat, 7 On Your Side's inquiry did not.
Both had their accounts restored. Even Miss Odyn the Huskey's account was restored.
"I can't thank you guys enough. We clearly got nowhere and you got the job done so thank you so much," said Fossett-Lee.
"I was like whoa did they maybe have a change of mind and then I thought to myself, oh it must have been ABC7 On Your Side," said Urbina.
A Meta spokesperson says, our teams reviewed the accounts you flagged and found they had been removed in error.
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Meta did not restore the accounts of one of three users 7 On Your Side asked them about. Meta says the account was correctly removed for breaking Meta's rules but not share how or why the account violated its policies.
The social media platform says it uses a combination of people and technology to find and remove accounts that break their rules and to review appeals. Meta admits these systems aren't always perfect, but that it seeks to address errors as quickly as possible.
"There's nothing you can do it's AI checking AI," said Urbina.
In follow-up requests to Meta, I asked why the mistakes happened initially and why Urbina and Fossett-Lee's appeals were denied until 7 On Your Side got involved.
The Meta spokesperson has not yet answered those questions.
Despite the recent crackdown, Meta says it has not seen evidence of a significant increase in incorrect enforcement of its rules.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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