As Meta embraces AI content oversight, users claim wrongful suspensions

August 17, 2025

VIENNA TWP., Ohio –
For many small businesses, social media is more than just fun.

“People find me through Facebook, they find me through Instagram, and those outlets drive them to my website. They are the lifeblood of what I do,” said Erin Ozanich, who owns the photography business Photos for Keeps by Erin

On Sunday, Meta suspended her Instagram and Facebook accounts for violating “Community Standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.” 

Ozanich’s 14-year-old photography business focuses on family milestones like graduations, engagements, marriages and baby photos. She strongly denies any inappropriate behavior and believes her account was suspended in error by AI. 

“Because it’s not a real person doing the shutting down, doing the suspending, they can do it for any rhyme or reason,” Ozanich said. “It’s a bot doing it that doesn’t have a heart and soul, and they’re just doing it at random.”

There is no proof that AI specifically suspended Ozanich’s account, but according to Meta’s Oversight Board, machines now make most decisions on what content should be left up, taken down or sent for human review. Meta says AI “can detect and remove content that goes against our Community Standards before anyone reports it.”

Ozanich also isn’t alone. Users across the country now say they have been suspended by Meta in error. Last month, Los Angeles-based KABC7 reported people across several states had reached out to their station about wrongful Instagram and Facebook suspensions. 

At the same time, Meta has come under scrutiny for how its own AI chatbot policies engage with minors. Reuters reported Thursday that an internal Meta Platforms document laying out rules for chatbot behavior previously allowed the AI to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” Meta told Reuters it has removed that language from its policy. 

After learning of her suspension, Ozanich said she tried to reach Instagram customer service by phone and email, but was unable to reach a real person. 

“I’m desperate here,” she said. “The future of my business hangs in the balance. My income could so drastically be affected by this in the future, if I have to rebuild and start over.”

21 News has reached out to Meta for comment and has not yet received a response.

 

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