On 20 June 2025, I became a victim of the “Meta Ban Wave”.
Around 5pm, I was logged out of Facebook, my account suspended for “not following their Community Standards”. To appeal, I had to verify my facial identity, submit a photo of a valid ID, and wait for the outcome.
As my Facebook was linked to my Instagram account, it was also suspended. If I didn’t appeal within 180 days, it would be permanently disabled.
No human support was available.
As an elected representative, 95% of my Facebook usage is spent on my Page LimYiWei.MY to communicate with constituents on policy and community matters; 5% on my private profile. I only have one Instagram profile which is 90% work, 10% personal.
I contacted deputy minister of communications, YB Teo Nie Ching, who alerted Meta Singapore of my case and the possibility of Malaysian users being affected.
Come 24 June morning, my accounts returned! Sadly, at 2pm, an email stated that both accounts had been suspended again. I did the appeal (again) and waited.
On 26 June, I received an email requesting proof of my ID. My accounts were restored, but I’m mildly anxious that it might happen again.
Meta’s silence, media’s sparse coverage
If you’ve never heard of the Meta Ban Wave, it’s because mainstream media have been woefully silent. However, Meta and IG’s X posts are flooded with comments pleading for help, or in the very least, acknowledge the problem. Tiktok and subreddits like r/FacebookDisabledMe and r/InstagramDisabledHelp detail horror stories stretching back to 2024; r/MetaLawsuits has been gathering users, mostly in the US, to file a class action suit.
Some examples of media coverage include:
- On 6 June, Korea Times highlighted the Ban Wave and accounts suspended on allegations of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). On 10 June, Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee X’s post said Meta Korea was conducting a global crackdown on child and youth pornography, and indiscriminately blocked accounts were being restored sequentially. Meta Korea has not issued any statement.
- On 16 June, TechCrunch became one of the first major portals covering on the scale of the issue and the possibility that AI may be to blame. A Change.org petition, “Meta Wrongfully Disabling Accounts with No Human Customer Support”, created on 23 May, has now garnered 25,786 signatures.
- On 25 June, when Facebook Groups were hit, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed Meta was aware and working to fix things. On 26 June, BBC reported that “Meta admits wrongly suspending Facebook Groups but denies wider problem”. Neither article addressed any form of resolution for individual accounts.
Just leave Meta? – the cost of unfair suspension
The Ban Wave isn’t simply a case of switching platforms or renouncing social media.
Business owners and content creators spend time and money building portfolios, running ads, and cultivating followings. Public figures (like me) and government agencies are duty-bound to provide consistent and timely communication. Members of Facebook Groups for peer support, such as bereaved parents or cancer survivors, may experience mental health risks from being cut off from online support networks. People lose access to treasured photos and chats, sometimes with deceased loved ones.
Worse, those slapped with CSE and CSAM allegations face legal and reputational risk. Some were minors or sexual abuse victims themselves.
The Ban Wave has also spawned dubious business practices. Some users started paying for Meta Verified in hopes of accessing human support. They received generic responses which were ultimately unhelpful in retrieving their accounts. On X, bots promote hackers who claim they can help but are likelier to be scammers preying on users’ frustration.
Meta’s AI spend vs. service
Considering their AI ambitions, Meta must step up on service – especially if AI is harming users. Meta claims to use a “combination of technology and people” to enforce policies, but the Ban Wave feels as though the tech has gone wrong and the people nowhere to be found.
With a hefty US$65 billion earmarked for AI infrastructure and talent, Meta’s mega moves include plans to hire Daniel Gross, CEO of US$32 billion AI startup Safe Superintelligence. OpenAI employees reportedly have been offered signing bonuses as high as US$100 million plus large annual compensation packages.
In June, Meta paid US$14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, which curates and annotates data for training large-scale AI models. Recent reports by Inc., Business Insider, and TechRepublic however hint at security issues at Scale.
As an affected user and policymaker, I urge Meta to:
1. Improve and continuously audit AI system: Meta must investigate the cause of the Ban Wave and improve their content moderation protocol. Was it a failure of contextual analysis? Why target well-moderated Groups and unproblematic profiles, while porn, scam, and hate content remain up and running?
2. Make the suspension and appeals process transparent: Users must receive evidence of supposed violations. If users don’t know what Community Standards they supposedly breached, they risk being banned again on new accounts.
3. Add critically needed human support: As a company posting USD$2.32 billion in revenue and US$6.43 in earnings per share (EPS) for Q1 2025, Meta has an obligation to provide human moderators with localised/regional expertise to handle appeals. While the first layer of flagging and suspension (notifying, providing evidence, and collecting the necessary info for appeals) can be handled by AI, human support helps address nuances in individual cases. Individual accounts must receive the same level of care as large Facebook Groups, public figures, or influencers.
4. Improve Help Centre functions: Meta and IG Help Centre advice can be an anxiety-inducing loop. During my 1st suspension, I decided to download my Instagram data. I received an email with the download link, which led me to the Instagram login page. After logging in, the same suspension notice screen appeared; there was no download. Great.
Treat users with fairness and respect
Meta may be too big to fail; the bleed of users abandoning Meta after unfair suspensions perhaps too small to dent their bottom line.
However, having asked users to trust Meta with our memories, creativity, and livelihoods, I believe it is only fair to call upon Meta to treat users with fairness and respect, and commit clearly to resolving the banning of innocent accounts immediately.