Oh Facebook. Really? Why? How?

I have to admit, I really love Facebook.

I've used the platform for all of the areas where it's most useful ...

• connecting with family across the country,
• finding long lost friends,
• participating in local community forums,
• joining groups of interest,
• posting progress photos of the seasons of my vineyard view,
• sharing photos from travels,
• finding and ordering products on Facebook Marketplace,
• posting on Instagram and sharing to Facebook,
• posting stories on both IG and FB,
• setting up and managing pages for my businesses and client businesses,
• and running ads (which have been very successful) for small local businesses.

Yet despite all of that positive and frequent participation in all things Facebook, the new Meta has seen fit to completely disable my account access.

How? Why? Let me fill you in on my (ridiculous) story

In mid-June I received a message that two of my posts violated community standards for "Child Sexual Exploitation." (above) My first thought was ... AI had deemed some baby pictures unacceptable ... or I had been hacked.

Not long after I received an email from FB asking if I had tried to change my password, and offering a code to use if I was trying to change my login. I responded NO (and this is important) and didn't use the code.

The email notifying me of the issue offered me a chance to disagree. Of course I disagreed, and responded with the requested information (full name and address, copy of my drivers license).

I then received the additional email (above) about "what happens next" with "it usually takes us just over a day to review ... except for COVID." hmmm

Of course there's no chat, no phone number, not even an email to contact anyone

Meanwhile, because I had been matched with a Facebook consultant for a client ad program I was running, I contacted her to see if she could do anything. She said she could issue a ticket to IT. Because I had told her I must have been hacked, the IT person emailed me with a number of links ... to Facebook ... to figure out if I had been hacked.

Hellooooo ... when an account is disabled ... I can't see anything on Facebook, nor open any of the links that were sent! So no response, no reply, no conversation.

Days go by. And more days. I received another email saying "you only have 18 days to disagree before your account is permanently closed." I responded to that also. Nothing. No response. No review. Nada.

I spent some time online looking for solutions, I found email addresses to contact, tried that. Another option was to set up a new account, so using my gmail instead, I did. And within a day that was closed down too.

Obviously I'm a terrible person posting nasty stuff. (NOT!)

It wasn't just me ... it was worse for someone else!

My daughter sent me screen shots of an email from her dog trainer, who used Facebook to communicate with clients and advertise her services. She had the same issue about a week after me ... someone posted two child pornography videos to her page. She was flagged (which is appropriate) and her account was disabled.

But ... critical piece. When she received the email with the code to change her password, in a panic, she used it. The hacker got into all of her accounts, accessed her phone and even bank accounts. She had to completely trade out all of her technology, phones and computers, to resolve it. She was sending an email around to her clients to let them know and ask them to verify their information so she could set up a new system. Awful.

I wonder if those apps and logins which offer "sign in with Facebook" are also access points for a hacker who has taken over a Facebook account? I feel better about never using that, always setting up my own password and using my email. (Hopefully that's not foolish!)

This situation has created issues for my client, too

Because I can't access Facebook, I can't maintain the page, place ads, update the offers, create sales and visibility ... and I had built up a good following. It turns out no one else at the company has enough access to take over Facebook either, due to the way the account was set up by someone who is no longer involved.

What could/should have happened instead?

First of all ... anyone who had actually reviewed my account could see the thousands of photos I have posted over the years, the company pages I have managed, the posts I have commented on ... and seen that on just one day, there were just two posts that violated community standards.

OBVIOUSLY I was hacked!

Imagine if Facebook had just deleted those bad posts and validated my account with a bit of communication something like ...

We realize there are only two posts which don't meet our standards so we have deleted them for you. Here are links to use to make your account more secure from hacking. Your account is now live again. We appreciate you as part of our Facebook family.

Huh. Wouldn't that be nice?

I realize I'm only a grain of sand in the ocean that is Facebook.

Yet isn't my participation the type that Facebook wants?

I amplify the platform, use it for advertising, share and stay involved at multiple levels. I'm not a giant, high-volume advertiser spending big bucks ... but I am a small business advertiser who promotes Facebook to my clients and helps them use it more effectively.

I understand the need to crack down on security, establish community standards and maintain them. But why shut down the good guys? The ones who actually use and support the platform? And why not have an honest review of an account if that's what you say you're going to do? What about a little communication?

Yes, I'm more than frustrated.

And I miss it ... getting the news in my feed, finding out what friends are up to, following the pages of non-profits I care about, searching for specific kinds of plants to buy ... etc., etc., etc.

If anyone has any advice or insight they can offer that will help me get my account back ... I would really appreciate it.