Businesses exhaust options over suspended Meta accounts

A year since then minister Chris Penk stepped in to help small businesses wrongfully suspended by Meta, businesses said getting a fair and transparent appeal is still difficult.And some users said they felt they have exhausted all their options, after spending hundreds of dollars in attempts to restore their accounts.Invercargill based wedding photographer Stan McDowall was one of them. He was enjoying a holiday on the Gold Coast when his account was suspended in May.In a notification window, he was told Meta didn't "allow people on Facebook to exploit others for profit".Examples provided included promoting sex trafficking, helping with an illegal adoption, coordinating slavery or forced labour of any kind.McDowall thought he knew why.Earlier that day, he had made a post looking for a paid babysitter, and received a few messages from people offering their services.Since the suspension, McDowall had been unable to pause Facebook adverts for his wedding photography business or respond to enquiries. But he was still paying for them, Meta had charged him $1319.39 for the ongoing ads since May, and McDowall estimated he'd also missed out on over $6000 worth of bookings.In attempt to restore his accounts, he had paid $72 for a subscription service to speak with a human agent at Meta, but after raising his query five times, he had been blocked.He had also paid for a demand letter through an overseas lawyer, filed a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal, contacted MBIE, and his local MP Penny Symmonds.McDowall was not alone. A global petition calling for an end to wrongful account bans had received nearly 67,000 signatures since May 2025.Stan McDowall was suspended from his Meta accounts for over five months.SuppliedNutrition coach Jane Ross-Davie was locked out of her accounts in February and said she had tried every avenue she could."Multiple formal appeals via Instagram and Facebook. I did identity and account verification, Meta support, including Meta Verified. I contacted the Instagram privacy related e-mail. I personally attempted contacting Meta employees in New Zealand through LinkedIn. I sent a lead legal demand letter to Meta's registered address in California."She even paid $200 to someone who promised to reinstate her account. In hindsight, she said it was a scam.In October last year, the then Minister of Small Business and Manufacturing, Penk, opened a dedicated inbox at the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment for small businesses to send their suspension appeals to.Ross-Davie tried the Privacy Commissioner, contacted MBIE, and her local MP in Bay of Plenty, Tom Rutherford, helped her escalate the case with MBIE again."He came back to me and said, hey, I've been trying everything, I haven't heard anything back. About two days after I got my account back."Ross-Davie could not say which method worked.And after being shut out for nine months, she was finally told exactly what had triggered her suspension."It was my toddler running around at the beach, which is good that they obviously flag that, but maybe just say, hey, you can't show that, remove it, rather than remove all my accounts for nine months."It wasn't just users asking for Meta to change.In June, Meta's Oversight Board - an independent body of experts - found systematic unfairness across the account disablement process, and made recommendations including a fair and effective appeal process for disabled accounts.Meta did not respond to RNZ's questions on whether the recommendations will be implemented.MBIE told RNZ it had received and forwarded 457 matters to Meta since last September, which represented approximately 192 unique individuals and businesses.In a statement, a spokesperson said they understood the frustration experienced by businesses who had had their accounts suspended and had not achieved the outcome they were seeking.They had no insight into how many accounts were reinstated due to their escalation, as Meta could not provide account specific details due to privacy concerns. But recently, they contacted Meta again for aggregated data.In a 173-page official information release to RNZ, MBIE officials could be seen corresponding with individuals, Penk's office and other MP's offices about account suspensions. Officials also sent multiple emails drafting a response to let contractors know the inbox can only support businesses, and how to provide information in the format required by Meta.Asked if it was justifiable use of public service time, the spokesperson said the process was set up at the request of the Minister, and time administering the process was not recorded."The process is now administered as part of MBIE's broader engagement with small businesses."National candidates Christopher Luxon, Cameron Brewer, Louise Upston and others at Book Hero in Hobsonville, Auckland, October 2026.RNZ / Calvin SamuelCameron Brewer, who took over the ministerial portfolio in April, said he'd welcome greater visibility from Meta on outcomes.He said he met with Meta on 2 July, where he discussed the process and the impact of account suspensions."The escalation pathway was set up to give affected small businesses somewhere to turn when they'd reached a dead end with Meta."RNZ contacted Meta for comments with stories from five users, including those of McDowall and Ross-Davie.In an email, a Meta spokesperson said it has reactivated all the accounts.However, two users told RNZ they were still locked out.Meta did not respond to questions on whether it will provide outcomes to MBIE.