Millions of people use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to connect with family and friends, and some businesses also use them to reach out to their customers.
However, when their accounts are shut down without warning, it can lead to a loss of photos, videos and contacts.
Two CTV News viewers reached out to Consumer Alert after their Instagram accounts were suspended due to “inappropriate” material being posted.
Jennifer Gaskell, of Whitby, Ont., runs a travel agency called Pink Palm Travel. It’s a business she’s grown over the past five years using the Meta platform, Instagram.
“It’s something I rely on so much for getting new clients,” Gaskell told CTV News. “That’s how I grew a lot of my client base which is why it really stings to have it suspended right now for no reason.”
It was the summer of 2025 when Gaskell said was stunned to learn her Instagram account had been suspended for reportedly having inappropriate content, something she said made no sense to her.
“It was flagged for--the reasons that they gave me were absurd--it was nudity, for example, and I immediately was shocked,” Gaskell said.
Gaskell pays into the Meta Verified monthly subscription, which Meta states provides tools to build new audiences and protect users from impersonation. According to Meta, depending on which subscription you sign up for, it also provides enhanced support to get issues like Gaskell’s resolved more quickly.
She told CTV News she contacted Meta to say there must be a mistake and to have her account reinstated, however, she was unsuccessful.
“There really has been nothing but silence from Meta which is the most frustrating thing in all of this.”
Suspended due to content violations
Yathusan Sivarajah, of Scarborough, also lost access to his Instagram account which he’s had for over 10 years.
Sivarajah told CTV News he grew his account to over 1,000 followers before it was suspended due to content violations, but he has no idea why and can’t get it restored.
“It says I was barred right, suspended,” Sivarajah told CTV News. “Honestly, I just want my Instagram account back because I don’t feel I should lose it for something I didn’t do.”
Janita Pannu, a social media expert and founder of OPIIA Inc., a digital marketing and creative media agency, told CTV News that having account suspensions reinstated can be difficult.
“With Meta, they use an automated system to detect police violations and sometimes these automated system can make a mistake,” Pannu explained.
“All the content we post online is really rented to these social media platforms, it’s not really our own. We really don’t have control over it the way we wish we did.”
When CTV News reached out to Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, a spokesperson said new solutions and access to account support are available online, including steps to take to have accounts restored.
However, after months of trying, Sivarajah and Gaskell said they’re both still locked out of their accounts and have had to open new ones and start over.
“Personally, I have seen a 50 per cent drop in inquiries, so it does have a direct connection,” said Gaskell.
