After a massive wave of bans affecting Instagram and Facebook users, Meta users complain that Facebook groups are also affected by massive suspensions. According to individual complaints and organized efforts on sites like Reddit to share information, the ban has affected thousands of groups, both in the US and abroad, and spans various categories.
When asked for comment, Meta spokesman Andy Stone confirmed that the company is aware of the issue and is working to fix it.
“We are aware of the technical errors that have affected our Facebook group. We are now fixing things,” he told TechCrunch in an emailed statement.
The reason for the massive ban is still unknown, but many suspect that AI-based moderation errors could be held liable.
Based on information shared by affected users, many of the hanging Facebook groups are not the type to regularly face moderation concerns, as they focus on savings tips and transactions, parenting support, dog or cat owner groups, game groups, Pokemon groups, and group of mechanical keyboard enthusiasts.
Facebook Group Admins reports that they have received vague violation notifications related to “terrorism-related” content and nudity.
Some of the affected groups are smaller in size, but many are larger, with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of users.
Those who organized to share tips on the issue advised to wait a few days to see if the suspension would automatically turn back when the bug is fixed, rather than pleading with others to ban the group.
Currently, Reddit’s Facebook community (R/Facebook) is full of posts from group admins and users who are angry about the recent purge. Some reports report that all groups that run have been deleted at once. Incredible about the supposed violation – fewer than a million users have been flagged for nude, like a group of bird photos.
Others argue that their group is already well modelled against spam, like a family-oriented Pokemon group with already 200,000 members.
At least some Facebook group administrators who pay for Meta’s verified subscriptions, including priority customer support, were able to get help. However, others have reported that their group has been suspended or removed entirely.
It is unclear whether this issue is related to the recent wave of bans affecting meta users as individuals, but this appears to be a growing issue across social networks.
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, social networks like Pinterest and Tumblr have faced complaints about mass suspensions in recent weeks, with users suspecting that AI-Automated Moderation’s efforts being held liable.
Pinterest at least admitted the mistake, saying the mass ban was due to internal errors, but denied that AI was a problem. Tumblr said the issue is related to testing the new content filtering system, but did not clarify whether the system is related to AI.
When asked about the Instagram ban last week, Meta declined to comment. Users have now distributed petitions that have received over 12,380 signatures so far, asking Meta to address the issue. Others, including those whose businesses have been affected, are pursuing legal action.
Meta has not yet shared what is causing problems with either individual accounts or groups.
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