Meta Restricted My Account for Sharing a Link to Meta’s Documentation

This is complete nonsense…

Last Tuesday, I shared a screenshot of a new Meta ads feature to my private Facebook group.

Immediately after publishing, I added a comment to share a link to Meta’s official documentation.

This was similar to something I’ve done in that group hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the past 10-15 years. A very clean, very innocent share to a group I manage. All in an attempt to inform and educate advertisers on Meta’s new features and best practices.

And then all hell broke loose.

“Confirm Your Identity”

I got this message that certain actions were restricted because Meta detected unusual activity on my account:

Open Facebook on your mobile device to confirm your identity. Certain actions have been restricted due to unusual activity.

So far, no panic. I was instructed to open the mobile app and verify my identification. I did that by uploading a photo of my driver’s license.

At this point, I’m telling myself it’s annoying, but everything should be fine.

Verification Failed

And then this…

We couldn’t confirm your identity. Because we couldn’t verify your identity, you won’t be able to join new groups or take actions in groups for now.

Huh? You couldn’t confirm my identity? Why? I followed the directions exactly. I shouldn’t have had to confirm my identity in the first place, but I went through the steps. And because it failed for a reason that Meta doesn’t explain, that’s it?

This is Nonsense

I can’t join or create new groups, but most importantly, I can’t post or comment. And that’s kind of important when you host a private Facebook group.

This is stupid. How is it possible an account can get flagged for sharing a link to Meta’s official documentation? How are your detection systems not better than that?

While I was flagged incorrectly, it should have been solved when I submitted my driver’s license. And now, five days later, there’s nothing I can do? No alternative ways to verify your identity? No way to directly dispute it or speak with a human about a clear error in Meta’s flagging or verification systems?

You’re just supposed to wait it out for an unknown amount of time? Complete NONSENSE.

Trust Meta’s AI and Automations?

I get that Meta has a difficult task of detecting harmful behavior and shutting down bad actors. But I don’t know, maybe don’t fire all the people who are in charge of helping with this process.

There is no reason this should happen to anyone. And I know I’m not the only one.

How are we supposed to trust Meta’s automations and AI when this happens? You’re firing people, removing paths to resolution, giving us no way to get it sorted.

And we have entire businesses relaying on you.

Be better, Meta. And be better quickly.