Meta’s Oversight Board says account bans lack due process, transparency

Meta’s Oversight Board, the independent governing body that makes policy recommendations to the tech company, said Thursday that Meta’s account deactivations lack due process, violations are doled out without clarity, and there’s little customer support for appeals.

The board, which recently received increased funding to continue its work through 2028, launched the investigation into Meta’s account violations policy earlier this year to review a case involving threats of violence against a journalist. The board agreed that Meta was right to permanently disable the account due to the severity of the threats.

However, in looking into the matter, the board found what it described as “systemic human rights concerns,” and a “lack of transparency and consistency” when it came to Meta’s two-system approach to disabling accounts.

That’s a reference to the two different ways accounts can be actioned against: one that involves strikes, some that can be severe, and another for “egregious” violations that merit permanently disabling an account. The board said the difference between what leads to one type of violation or the other isn’t clear or well-documented.

The board also called out the social media giant for charging users for Meta Verified access, which is supposed to include “24/7 access to email or chat agent support,” but failing to provide users with disabled accounts any sort of “meaningful assistance.”

Meta users across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta apps have dealt with this problem for years. As Meta’s moderation systems became more automated over the years, there has been little recourse when they make mistakes to get any sort of help from the company. This has been devastating to users who have lost their personal accounts, or even those belonging to their business, over false accusations. Some have even filed lawsuits over the matter or are in the process of doing so.

The board took up the matter of permanent bans in a landmark case after a wave of recent bans that affected Facebook and Instagram

After covering the bans, TechCrunch received a constant stream of reports from impacted users, begging us to bring their cases to Meta’s attention

For instance, retired LA County firefighter and paramedic Richard Pauwels, who was building a wellness brand on Meta’s platforms, claimed his personal account was banned without any specific post being identified and without human review.

Automated alleged child sexual exploitation (CSE) violations are another common occurrence leading to bans, which are devastating to innocent parties.

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