Instagram under fire for wrongful mass account bans, citing CSE

Update 06/06/25 05:55 pm (IST): A South Korean media outlet reported that a domestic Meta spokesperson responded to the development by stating that, “It is difficult to answer accurately because it is an issue under investigation.” So, maybe, just maybe, Meta might actually act quick to revert the bans. However, many users aren’t willing to play the waiting game. Users are kick starting petitions and are threatening to sue Meta. You can read more about it here.

Original article published on June 5, 2025, follows:

Instagram is currently facing a storm of outrage from users worldwide. Many people are reporting that their accounts have been unfairly banned, with the platform citing “child sexual exploitation” (CSE) as the reason. This serious accusation is leaving countless users distressed and without access to their digital lives.

The trouble started when people began noticing their accounts were disabled overnight. A father shared his shock on Reddit after posting pictures from his kid’s kindergarten graduation, only to find his account flagged for CSE. They posted a video describing what took place on Reddit, you can watch it below:

Another user, who ran a professional page for their artwork, watched years of effort vanish. “I had built a following of around 4,000 people who engaged with my content mostly automotive inspired art and design,” they wrote. “Everything I posted aligned with the platform’s guidelines.” Even a casual user who posted piano videos and memes wasn’t spared. “Nothing remotely sexual,” they insisted, yet their account was gone too.

These are just a handful of the hundreds of reports that are out there on X and Reddit. As expected, everyone’s trying to speculate what might be going on behind the scenes. Many point fingers at Instagram’s AI moderation system, suspecting it’s misfiring. One theory suggests the AI might flag content with certain keywords — like those in predator poacher videos — without understanding context. “What if the bot sees ‘XXX & YYY’ and assumes the worst?” a user speculated. It’s a plausible guess, especially since some banned accounts hadn’t posted in years but had interacted with such content.

One user even shared a screenshot of the email they got from Instagram:

The fallout is serious. Beyond losing memories and connections, people worry about the label itself. One user said:

This kind of label could ruin someone’s life, especially people working in government or government contractors, aviation, those with actual deep access in institutional finance, tech, or any job that requires a serious background check.

This isn’t Meta’s first brush with moderation mishaps. Last year, we covered similar chaos across WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, where accounts were banned left and right for no clear reason. You can dig into that mess here.

Appeals aren’t helping either. Most get rejected within minutes, leaving people stuck. “I appealed and the same AI shockingly rejected and permabanned me.,” one user fumed. That said, we did notice a pattern of users reporting success in getting back their accounts through a Meta Verified subscription in similar cases. But of course, there’s no guarantee that it’ll work for everyone.

Judging by the number of reports online, it wouldn’t be surprising to know that the ban wave has impacted thousands, spanning countries like the U.S., Brazil, and India.

So what’s next? Some are talking lawsuits. “Has anyone filed a collective complaint against Instagram/Meta/Facebook?” a Reddit post asked. “This is digital defamation with life-altering consequences.” Whether that gains traction remains to be seen, but the anger is real. For now, users are just demanding that Meta should address this issue urgently and transparently. Some even want accountability for the immense distress and potential harm caused by these false accusations.

For those interested, here are a few more threads discussing the problem — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Featured image credit: @Jahdaitay_410 / X