While allowing ads for pornographic cartoons
After over 20 years of Facebook use I have been summarily dismissed. No explanation, no rebuttal, no recourse. Just terminated.
My wife and I have been running this newsletter for over 3 months now with daily articles and stories that many subscribers find entertaining and helpful. However, our subscription rates dropped off after the first month and we were searching for ways to increase readership.
Searching the internet and reading everything I could find about methods to increase readership I found many who suggested turning to social media.
I hit on the idea of joining Facebook groups that cater to seniors. Once I found a few and joined them, I decided to appeal to a few of those groups for members who might like to share stories about growing up in Canada, as those type of stories seem to be most popular.
A day later, suddenly a block popped up on my computer screen that my Facebook account had been suspended. No explanation, just a link to a page listing all the possible reasons for suspension. Also a warning that if I did not appeal the suspension within 120 days it would become permanent.
It turned out that the appeal process consisted of providing a video of myself and clicking a button saying I wished to appeal. Still no reason for the suspension, no chance to defend myself. Just that the suspension had been initiated by their AI bots and the appeal investigation would be carried out by human investigators. They stated it would usually be decided within 24 hours and if the investigators agreed there had been a violation of the rules the suspension would become permanent.
That was four days ago and still no access to my account so I guess I have been found guilty as charged in my absence with absolutely no defence. After studying their long list of actionable crimes I have deduced the only thing on the list I could be accused of is spam. I have no proof that was it, but on reflection I realized I pasted the exact same message on four different seniors groups without changing the wording. For the wonderful compassionate people on Facebook, this must constitute spam.
The thing is, I have seen advertisements for, and free samples of pornographic cartoons on Facebook on many occasions. It seems if you pay advertising fees to Facebook you can get away with anything.
So I have lost my primary method of communicating with my wife, my children, and grandchildren, as well as many friends and fellow employees due to an innocent mistake. Not only can I not use Facebook any more but also Facebook Messenger and Instagram.
The suspension itself was a shock, but the silence that followed was the most deafening part. It was as if I had been put on trial without a single charge being read. There was no explanation, no chance to defend myself, and no human being to appeal to. In the digital world, my fate was decided by a faceless algorithm, and the “human investigators” that were supposed to review my case felt as distant and unreachable as the moon. The feeling wasn’t just frustration; it was a profound sense of helplessness. I had been erased without a trace, and I was given no voice, no recourse, and no reason.
The lesson here is that building a community on a platform that can arbitrarily silence you is a very risky business. The most valuable connections are the ones we build ourselves, and that’s why my wife and I are so grateful for our Canadian Senior Moment community, where we can connect with you directly and share our lives in a way that truly matters.
Warmly,
Bill and Marilyn
Founders of Canadian Senior Moment