After a wave of mass bans impacting Instagram and Facebook users alike, Meta users are now complaining that Facebook Groups are also being impacted by mass suspensions. According to individual complaints and organized efforts on sites like Reddit to share information, the bans have impacted thousands of groups both in the U.S. and abroad, and have spanned various categories.
Reached for comment, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the company was aware of the issue and working to correct it.
“We’re aware of a technical error that impacted some Facebook Groups. We’re fixing things now,” he told TechCrunch in an emailed statement.
The reason for the mass bans is not yet known, though many suspect that faulty AI-based moderation could be to blame.
Based on the information shared by impacted users, many of the suspended Facebook groups aren’t the type that would regularly face moderation concerns, as they focus on fairly innocuous content — like savings tips or deals, parenting support, groups for dog or cat owners, gaming groups, Pokémon groups, groups for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, and more.
Facebook Group admins report receiving vague violation notices related to things like “terrorism-related” content or nudity, which they claim their group hasn’t posted.
While some of the impacted groups are smaller in size, many are large, with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of users.
Those who have organized to share tips about the problem are advising others not to appeal their group’s ban, but rather wait a few days to see if the suspension is automatically reversed when the bug is fixed.
Currently, Reddit’s Facebook community (r/facebook) is filled with posts from group admins and users who are angry about the recent purge. Some report that all the groups they run have been removed at once. Some are incredulous about the supposed violations — like a group for bird photos with just under a million users getting flagged for nudity.
Others claim that their groups were already well-moderated against spam– like a family-friendly Pokémon group with nearly 200,000 members, which received a violation notice that their title referenced “dangerous organizations,” or an interior design group that served millions, which received the same violation.
At least some Facebook Group admins who pay for Meta’s Verified subscription, which includes priority customer support, have been able to get help. Others, however, report that their groups have been suspended or fully deleted.
It’s unclear if the problem is related to the recent wave of bans impacting Meta users as individuals, but this seems to be a growing problem across social networks.
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, social networks like Pinterest and Tumblr have also faced complaints about mass suspensions in recent weeks, leading users to suspect that AI-automated moderation efforts are to blame.
Pinterest at least admitted to its mistake, saying the mass bans were due to an internal error, but it denied that AI was the issue. Tumblr said its issues were tied to tests of a new content filtering system, but did not clarify if that system involved AI.
When asked about the recent Instagram bans, Meta had declined to comment. Users are now circulating a petition that has topped 12,380 signatures so far, asking Meta to address the problem. Others, including those whose businesses were impacted, are pursuing legal action.
Meta has still not shared what’s causing the issue with either individual accounts or groups.