Why small business is fighting back against Meta bans

Larissa Carnegie felt powerless when the social media profile she had tirelessly created turned into nothing more than an error message.

A Brisbane hairdresser was devastated to learn she had lost accounts with thousands of followers after allegedly breaching community guidelines around sexual misconduct.

Even though they were reinstated almost 12 months later, he considers himself one of the lucky few.

Ms Carnegie told AAP: “I woke up the other morning feeling like I was in a fever dream. Getting my accounts back has been a weird whirlwind.”

Small business owners are increasingly reporting their accounts being closed and little support available to help them find their way back.

The result could mean serious financial and operational consequences.

Ms Carnegie had been trying to get back both her business and personal accounts after they were flagged in June last year.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, as his business deteriorated, he realized he had no clear way to contact Meta to resolve the problem.

Meta had to pay an approved fee to talk to an employee of one of the world’s largest technology companies.

“Literally for six months no one could help me through the Meta Help Center,” he recalls.

“They kept saying that a different department was handling this issue, that it was outside their jurisdiction, and that they couldn’t really help me.

“I didn’t get any answers.”

Six months later, he was given a final decision from the tech giant: His account was officially disabled as a result of violating community standards regarding child sexual abuse, exploitation, and nudity.

“They took my Instagram because they said I was violating their community guidelines, even though I wasn’t given any proof or evidence or any understanding of why it was taken,” the Brisbane creator says.

“This is a very sensitive issue and to be accused of this without any evidence was truly shocking.”

The impact of the decision has been crippling for Ms Carnegie, who relies heavily on social media to showcase her portfolio and attract clients.

He describes social media as his main point of contact with customers and a place where he can build rapport and make bookings quick and easy.

Ms Carnegie explains: “Our Instagram is basically our portfolio; whenever a client comes in, they always have Instagram images saved from the hairdressers’ other pages on their inspo.”

“Not having that or not being able to share made it really difficult to stay in touch with clients and promote my business.

“I lost money left, right and center because I couldn’t promote myself.”

Ms Carnegie’s accounts were reinstated shortly after AAP contacted Meta on Wednesday.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman reported a 20 percent increase in digital platform complaints in 2025, including those related to Meta, compared to the previous year.

A total of 719 complaints were recorded, 244 of which were made in the last three months of the year alone.

The majority were related to account access issues.

“Despite the increasing number of people applying to TIO for assistance in this area, we are unable to forward or resolve these complaints because digital platforms remain outside our jurisdiction,” the sector ombudsman’s latest report stated.

According to Small Business and Family Business Ombudsman Bruce Billson, there has been a significant increase in the number of small businesses whose accounts have been disabled by digital platforms due to alleged violations of community standards regarding child sexual exploitation.

He believes that to solve the problem, platforms must provide clear, appropriate and easily accessible help.

“The reality is that a growing number of small and family businesses rely on these platforms as channels for their markets, customers, storytelling and communications,” he told AAP.

“Disabling this is effectively like preventing trade and commerce.

“This is a very important step that needs to be taken and there needs to be further review of these steps, especially where Meta is able to identify this.”

Mr Billson added that commodity managers continue to work with authorities to find timely solutions to problems for small businesses.

Social media accounts are currently reviewed by a combination of people and technology, who find and remove accounts that break the rules on Meta.

The technology is also used to identify signals of potentially suspicious behavior, such as adult accounts being reported or blocked by teen accounts, or searches that violate child safety terms.

Meta maintains that if an account or content is accidentally removed, they will restore it.

“We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we’ve made a mistake,” a Meta spokesperson told AAP.

But that’s not the case for Sydney creator Jazmyn Gillies, who says she’s given up hope of getting her work account back.

The 26-year-old actress was unable to connect to Instagram just days after launching her events business in May.

“Maybe two weeks before the first incident, it collapsed and I was expelled for child sexual abuse, which is crazy,” Ms Gillies says.

“I was locked out. I lost not only my business account, but also my personal account, which I relied on to promote my new brand.

“It was really bad timing for me.”

The Sydney man tried everything to get his accounts back, from buying verification to paying external services for help, but felt they were taking advantage of him.

She has since opened a new account, but her old account had more than 6,000 followers, created while she was working in Los Angeles and New York.

These connections were key to his continued success.

“Obviously it’s been pretty difficult,” he says.

For now, Ms. Gillies has given up and is trying to accept the hand she has been dealt.

“I’ve been so frustrated for months,” he says.

“This taught me: don’t build your house on borrowed land or on a practice you can’t really trust.”

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