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CHICAGO — Numerous viewers have reached out to the ABC7 I-Team with claims that Meta has unjustly disabled their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The I-Team investigated four such cases, where the individuals involved asserted that they were incorrectly accused of “child endangerment,” leading to their accounts being deactivated.
While some individuals have managed to regain access to their accounts, they reported that the appeals process was exceedingly frustrating.
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“I couldn’t communicate with my daughter’s diabetic support group,” shared Natalie Martinez.
Natalie Martinez, a mother from Homewood in the southern suburbs, was shocked to find her Instagram account disabled, losing access to cherished photos, memories, and conversations.
“And next thing you know, I’m getting notifications on my phone from email, from Instagram telling me your account has been suspended,” Martinez said.
Meta also deactivated her Facebook page, plus several other linked Instagram accounts were yanked. She says a sub-account promoting her son’s soccer team was the first account shut down. The messages she got from Meta said her page “Doesn’t follow community standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse, and nudity.”
“I was totally taken aback,” Martinez said.
Martinez says she couldn’t get anyone from Meta on the phone to dispute the allegations, but she did go through the digital appeals process, getting her accounts back in three days.
“So just when I thought I was in the clear… I happened to just be scrolling on my phone and all of the sudden I didn’t get an email I was on my app, and it logged me out,” Martinez said.
She was disabled again. She appealed again and got her page back again.
ABC7 in the Bay Area uncovered similar cases in August after Meta deleted 600,000 accounts linked to predatory behavior in a teen safety push. Meta told KGO-TV at the time, “We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we’ve made a mistake.”
There’s also an online petition on Change.org claiming to have more than 55 thousand verified signatures. The petition accuses Meta of “wrongfully disabling accounts with no human customer support.” ABC7 asked Meta about the website, but it did not comment to the I-Team.
“My account is suspended for not following their community standards on child sexual exploitation,” Michael Calabro said. “I was like, this is crazy.”
In Andersonville, Michael Calabro says his digital appeals have gone nowhere since October of 2025.
“I did absolutely nothing wrong,” Calabro said.
He uses Instagram for his photography business. His linked personal Facebook page was also disabled.
“It’s taking money out of my pocket and my business side,” Calabro said. “I had and friends and connections with my cancer support community.”
ABC7 started inquiring about his account in November, and last week, Calabro got it back. Meta reactivated both pages.
“My accounts are back, and this is resolved, and I really done think this could have happened without you,” Calabro said. “I really want to say thank you for your help.”
Two other local people shared their disabled screenshots with the I-Team, facing those same child exploitation allegations. One man went three months without his Instagram and Facebook pages but eventually got them back after appealing.
In Hobart, Indiana, Jenna Shelton’s been fighting for reactivation of her Instagram and Facebook plus her daughter’s linked page since October of 2025.
“So it’s incredibly frustrating to think all of those memories are just gone, and I don’t even know if I am going to get those back, because I don’t even know if I am going to get that account back,” Shelton said.
Meta didn’t send the I-Team an official statement on any of the local cases, but did send its policy, which says it removes “harmful content that goes against our policies.” Meta says it also has “policies that describe what is and isn’t allowed on our technologies.”
Martinez says she’s hoping her account doesn’t get unfairly flagged again.
“It just felt very like scary and isolating how my things could be taken from me like that,” Martinez said.
The I-Team also asked Meta if it uses AI to look for “community standard violations.” A spokesperson didn’t answer the question. Meta’s policy page says it enforces policies using technology and human review.
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