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Tag: Facebook

  • Facebook Is Integrating Messenger Features With Its Mobile App

    Facebook Is Integrating Messenger Features With Its Mobile App

    Facebook is integrating Messenger features with its mobile Facebook app, potentially reducing the need to have Messenger installed.

    Until now, users have needed to have Messenger installed on their mobile devices to chat with their Facebook friends and family. The company is looking to unify the experience, incorporating some of Messenger’s functionality within the core Facebook app.

    Tom Alison, Head of Facebook, made the announcement in a blog post:

    We’re also seeing more people turning to messaging as a way to build community. We started introducing community chats to some Facebook Groups last year as a way for people to connect more deeply with their online communities in real time around the topics they care about. And, the early results are promising. Across Facebook and Messenger, we saw the number of people trying community chats increase by 50% in December 2022.

    Over the coming year, we’ll build more ways to integrate messaging features in Facebook. Ultimately, we want it to be easy and convenient for people to connect and share, whether in the Messenger app or directly within Facebook.

    The news will likely be welcome by most users, especially if it saves the trouble of switching back and forth between apps.

  • Meta’s Dual-Camera Smartwatch May Not Be Dead After All

    Meta’s Dual-Camera Smartwatch May Not Be Dead After All

    Rumors of the demise of Meta’s dual-camera smartwatch may be greatly exaggerated, with a new leak suggesting the project is very much alive.

    Reports surfaced that Meta (then Facebook) had been working on their own version of a smartwatch for roughly two years. The watch had two cameras, with one of them being pressed against the wrist, which could be used once the watch was taken off. In mid-2022, however, new reports indicated that Meta had abandoned the project.

    Leaker Kuba Wojciechowski says the project is very much alive, and has been contacted by an anonymous source that provided details and pictures.

    While many will no doubt love the idea of a smartwatch and camera that’s tightly integrated with their Facebook and Instagram accounts, many others will see this as a nightmare scenario. Given Meta’s long history of privacy abuses, it’s hard to image the potential for even more abuses with a device like this.

  • Facebook Threatens to Remove US News Over Journalism Bill

    Facebook Threatens to Remove US News Over Journalism Bill

    Facebook is once again threatening to remove news from its platform, this time in the US in response to a journalism bill before Congress.

    Congress proposed the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) with bipartisan support. The bill would provide a way for news publishers to negotiate with Facebook, Google, and other online platforms for access to and distribution of their content, according to The Verge.

    As it has done with Australia and Canada, Facebook is threatening to pull US news from its platform if the bill goes through.

    Andy Stone, Meta’s head of policy communications, tweeted about the company’s response to the bill.

    “If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation, we will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscription. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act fails to recognize the key fact: publishers and broadcasters put their content on our platform themselves because it benefits their bottom line — not the other way around. No company should be forced to pay for content users don’t want to see and that’s not a meaningful source of revenue. Put simply: the government creating a cartel-like entity which requires one private company to subsidize other private entities is a terrible precedent for all American businesses.”

    Ultimately, despite its bluster, Facebook ultimately backed down in the face of Australia’s similar bill, making it unlikely Facebook will follow through on its threats in the US.

  • Meta Fined $277 Million for Failing to Prevent Data Scraping

    Meta Fined $277 Million for Failing to Prevent Data Scraping

    Ireland is once again slapping Meta with a hefty fine, this time to the tune of $277 million for failing to protect user data from scraping.

    Data scraping is the process of using automated methods and scripts to collect data from a website. The data may be publicly available or require access. News of the scraping breach first broke in early 2021, although the actual incident occurred prior to 2020. In all, some 533,000,000 Facebook accounts were impacted.

    Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has now levied the third-largest fine against Meta, saying the company did not do enough to protect its users’ data and prevent personal information, phone numbers, email addresses, and more from being scraped.

    According to Independent.ie, some 1.3 million Irish Facebook accounts were impacted. Some of the impacted accounts included “gardai, sitting judges, prison officers, social workers, journalists and others.” The breach also coincides with a spike in scam attempts across the EU and Ireland.

    “The material issues in this inquiry concerned questions of compliance with the GDPR obligation for data protection by design and default,” the DPC said in a statement. “The DPC examined the implementation of technical and organisational measures pursuant to Article 25 [of] GDPR.”

    The investigation was evidently started last year, after news of the breach.

    “The DPC commenced this inquiry on 14 April 2021, on foot of media reports into the discovery of a collated dataset of Facebook personal data that had been made available on the internet,” the DPC statement said.

    “The scope of the inquiry concerned an examination and assessment of Facebook Search, Facebook Messenger Contact Importer and Instagram Contact Importer tools in relation to processing carried out by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited during the period between 25 May 2018 and September 2019.”

    To make matters worse, Facebook apparently is not interested in accepting full responsibility for the incident or fully committing to preventing such incidents in the future. In fact, as we previously covered at WPN, Facebook accidentally sent a memo to a journalist in which the company complained about the negative coverage it was receiving over the breach.

    In the memo, the company also outlined its goals moving forward, including efforts to “normalize the fact that this activity happens regularly.”

    Thankfully, Ireland’s DPC doesn’t believe data scrapping should be accepted as ‘normal’ and is holding Meta’s feet to the fire.

  • Meta’s Image Tarnished With Employees Angry Over Layoffs

    Meta’s Image Tarnished With Employees Angry Over Layoffs

    Meta’s image as a coveted place to work has taken a major hit, with employees disillusioned and angry over this week’s layoffs.

    Meta has always been a top spot to work in Silicon Valley, but the company announced it would lay off some 11,000 employees this week. The layoffs impacted virtually every department, but the one thing it didn’t impact is Meta’s investment in Zuckerberg’s pet project: the metaverse.

    According to Business Insider, employees are disillusioned, confused, and angry with the layoffs.

    “People really didn’t expect layoffs at that scale, even after the news,” said one employee who was not laid off. “Going above 10,000 was definitely more than I had in mind, and more than people had in mind.”

    “Class act as always,” one laid-off employee said sarcastically of Zuckerberg’s announcement. “Least it was on brand.”

    Read more: Major Meta Investor Urges Company to Scale Back Metaverse Investments

    Some employees wasted no time blaming Zuckerberg’s obsession with the metaverse for creating the circumstances that led to so many being laid off.

    “I certainly feel negatively towards him, and I’m sure many more people feel the same,” one impacted worker said. “There’s too much focus on metaverse and Reality Labs.”

    What’s more, the company’s focus on the metaverse seems to be at the exclusion of other company divisions, including ones that are currently growth drivers. For example, despite Zuckerberg repeatedly touting the importance of Facebook’s TikTok-like Reels and calling it a growth driver, one employee estimates as much as 70% of product marketing managers were laid off.

    “Honestly I’m more shocked than anything,” the person added. “It was pretty much a PMM and ‘Business Team’ bloodbath.”

    In a competitive tech scene, the ability to attract top talent is often the major differentiating factor between successful ventures and failures. Meta may have just shot itself in the foot and crippled its ability to attract that top talent in the future.

  • Here We Go Again: Facebook Threatens to Block Canada News Rather Than Pay

    Here We Go Again: Facebook Threatens to Block Canada News Rather Than Pay

    Facebook is once again threatening to block news in a country in response to legislation that would force the company to pay for news.

    Facebook has long allowed users to share and link to news. While the tech industry maintained that news publishers benefit the most, many publishers have increasingly chafed under the arrangement and decried it as unfair.

    According to The Wall Street Journal., Canadian legislators are preparing to address the problem with new legislation requiring Facebook to pay publishers for content it uses

    Facebook has pushed back against the legislation, accusing the Canadian government of not allowing it to testify before lawmakers. The company has made clear it may take drastic action if the bill passes:

    Canada is incredibly important to Meta. Canadians will always be able to use Facebook to connect with friends and family, to help build communities and to grow their businesses. But faced with adverse legislation that is based on false assumptions that defy the logic of how Facebook works, we feel it is important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content in Canada.

    The entire situation is similar to the standoff with Australia in early 2021. Australian lawmakers passed similar legislation, leading Facebook to suspend news sharing in that country. After significant fallout, Facebook finally acquiesced and worked out a deal with the Australian government.

    Only time will tell how Facebook’s spat with Canada will go and whether it will end up on similar terms as Australia.

  • Facebook Is Shutting Down Its Bulletin Newsletter Platform

    Facebook Is Shutting Down Its Bulletin Newsletter Platform

    Facebook is shutting down its Bulletin newsletter platform as the company looks to cut costs.

    Bulletin was Facebook’s attempt to compete in the newsletter space. The platform featured a number of well-known writers, such as Malcolm Gladwell, Erin Andrews, and Mitch Albom.

    According to The New York Times, however, Facebook has begun notifying writers of the platform’s impending shutdown, effective early next year.

    “Bulletin has allowed us to learn about the relationship between creators and their audiences and how to better support them in building their community on Facebook,” the company confirmed in a statement to the Times. “While this off-platform product itself is ending, we remain committed to supporting these and other creators’ success and growth on our platform.”

    The move is unsurprising, especially since Meta halted millions in funding for US newspapers. The company has been looking for ways to cut costs and focus on core areas of the business, making Bulletin a likely candidate for shutdown.

  • Meta Must Pay $175M for Infringing on a Green Beret’s App

    Meta Must Pay $175M for Infringing on a Green Beret’s App

    Most would tread carefully to avoid upsetting a Green Beret, but Meta evidently didn’t get the memo, choosing to copy his app.

    A former Green Beret launched Voxer in 2011, a walkie-talkie messaging app. The app went on to win Best Overall App at the 2013 First Annual Silicon Valley Business App Awards.

    According to MilitaryTimes.com, Meta (then Facebook) approached Voxer in 2012 to investigate collaboration between the two companies. The talks led to Voxer sharing its patents and disclosing confidential information with Meta.

    Unfortunately, the deal ultimately fell through, but Meta went on to create Facebook Live and Instagram Live. In the process, Meta identified Voxer as a competitor, even before it had any product that competed with Voxer, and blocked the startup’s access to certain Facebook components.

    “When early meetings did not result in an agreement, Facebook identified Voxer as a competitor although Facebook had no live video or voice product at the time,” court filings read. “Facebook revoked Voxer’s access to key components of the Facebook platform and launched Facebook Live in 2015 followed by Instagram Live in 2016. Both products incorporate Voxer’s technologies and infringe its patents.”

    A judge has sided with Voxer, ordering Meta to pay $175 million for infringing Voxer’s patents.

    A Meta spokesperson sent a statement to TechCrunch disputing the ruling and indicating the company intends to appeal.

    “We believe the evidence at trial demonstrated that Meta did not infringe Voxer’s patents,” the statement reads. “We intend to seek further relief, including filing an appeal.”

  • Websites Are Shunning the Facebook Button Over Privacy

    Websites Are Shunning the Facebook Button Over Privacy

    Once almost ubiquitous across the internet, websites are increasingly shunning the Facebook button over privacy concerns.

    Facebook’s button used to appear on websites large and small, providing a fast and easy way for people to log in to a site using their Facebook credentials. As consumers have grown more concerned with protecting their privacy, social media login buttons are a growing casualty.

    “We really just looked at how many people were choosing to use their social media identity to sign in, and that just has shifted over time,” Jen Felch, Dell’s chief digital and chief information officer, told CNBC. “One thing that we see across the industry is more and more security risks or account takeovers, whether that’s Instagram or Facebook or whatever it might be, and I just think we’re observing people making a decision to isolate that social media account versus having other connections to it.”

    Dell isn’t alone in removing the Facebook button. Best Buy, Ford, Match, Nike, Patagonia, Pottery Barn, and Twitch have all removed the option from their websites.

    The disappearing Facebook button is just the latest evidence that consumers are finally valuing their privacy and interested in taking greater control over it.

  • Meta Is Finally Creating a Customer Service Group to Handle Lost Accounts

    Meta Is Finally Creating a Customer Service Group to Handle Lost Accounts

    Meta is finally addressing one of its biggest shortfalls, creating a customer service group to address complaints over lost Facebook accounts and deleted content.

    One of the long-standing issues users have with Facebook is accounts being closed unexpectedly, or content being removed with no warning. Since the company relies on automated systems to help with moderation, accounts are often removed despite the user not violating any rules or guidelines.

    Until now users whose accounts or content were removed have had little to no recourse. Facebook technically has a variety of automated tools to appeal a decision, but as virtually anyone who has been in that situation can attest, the automated tools fall woefully short of useful.

    According to Bloomberg, Meta is establishing a customer service group that will handle these kind of complaints, hopefully improving the user experience significantly.

    “How do we provide care and customer service and responsiveness to people about why their content has been taken down or why their accounts are taken down?” said Brent Harris, Meta’s vice president of governance. Harris confirmed that improving Meta’s customer service is something the company is “spending a bunch of time on.”

    The impetus to finally do something to address the issue gained momentum as a result of Meta’s Oversight Board. The board received more than one million appeals from users, many of them having issues with account access.

  • Google Tops Big Tech Data Tracking With 39 Types of Private Data

    Google Tops Big Tech Data Tracking With 39 Types of Private Data

    Google is the most invasive of Big Tech companies, tracking 39 different private user data points, more than any of its peers.

    StockApps.com conducted an analysis of what data Google, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook collect. Of the companies analyzed, Google was the most invasive, tracking 39 different points of private user data. Apple was the least invasive, only tracking 12 data points “necessary to maintain users’ accounts.”

    Twitter collected the second-highest number of data points at 24, while Amazon came in at 23. Surprisingly, Facebook only tracked 14 data points.

    “Twitter and Facebook both save more information than they need to,” writes Edith Reads for StockApps.com. “However, with Facebook, most of the data they store is information users enter.”

    One of the biggest challenges for users interested in limiting Big Tech’s data tracking is the difficulty in understanding the long and complicated privacy policies most companies utilize.

    “Most people do not have the time or patience to read privacy policies that can be several pages long for each website they visit,” says Reads. “Also, it is quite unlikely that all users have a background in law to properly grasp the privacy policy. Besides, users lack time, patience, or energy to try to figure out what information websites are storing and how they are using it to their advantage. As a result, users end up allowing Google to harvest all the data they need by agreeing to the privacy policy terms. “

  • YouTube and TikTok Are Blowing Facebook Away in Teen Usage

    YouTube and TikTok Are Blowing Facebook Away in Teen Usage

    Facebook has a major problem in its attempts to appeal to teens, with the platform being blown away by both YouTube and TikTok.

    Younger markets are critical for social media platforms and their future growth prospects. The more attached users are to a platform early on, and the more their online social lives are intertwined with it, the more impetus there will be for them to continue using it in the coming years.

    Unfortunately for Facebook, its usage among this critical demographic — ages 13 to 17 — has plummeted. According to Pew Research Center, the number of teens saying they use Facebook has dropped from 71% in 2014-2015 to a mere 32% in 2022. In contrast, 95% of teens use Google’s YouTube, while 67% use TikTok.

    Pew also found some interesting demographic differences within the target group.

    There are some notable demographic differences in teens’ social media choices. For example, teen boys are more likely than teen girls to say they use YouTube, Twitch and Reddit, whereas teen girls are more likely than teen boys to use TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. In addition, higher shares of Black and Hispanic teens report using TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp compared with White teens.

    The study is bad news for Facebook and may provide insight into why the company is pivoting so hard toward the metaverse. If Facebook can execute its vision for the metaverse, it may be able to reclaim its crown.

  • Amazon Sues More Than 10,000 Facebook Group Admins Over Paid Reviews

    Amazon Sues More Than 10,000 Facebook Group Admins Over Paid Reviews

    Amazon is taking its battle against paid reviews to a new level, suing Facebook group admins for paying people for fake reviews.

    Amazon has struggled with fake reviews for years, with an entire cottage industry thriving around securing those reviews. According to the Daily Mail, Amazon is suing more than 10,000 Facebook group admins that are acting as “brokers” for fake reviews.

    “Our teams stop millions of suspicious reviews before they’re ever seen by customers, and this lawsuit goes a step further to uncover perpetrators operating on social media,’ said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of selling partner services.

    “Proactive legal action targeting bad actors is one of many ways we protect customers by holding bad actors accountable.”

    In addition to protecting customers, Amazon is facing increased pressure from government officials. The UK’s Competition and Market Authority has investigated whether Amazon is doing enough to combat fake reviews.

    The company’s latest action should go a long way toward putting those concerns to rest.

  • Facebook Is Encrypting Links to Bypass Browser Privacy Settings

    Facebook Is Encrypting Links to Bypass Browser Privacy Settings

    Facebook is at it again, encrypting its URLs in an effort to bypass the privacy protections afforded by Brave and Firefox.

    According to Ghacks, the issue stems from changes Firefox and Brave made to strip out tracking parameters from URLs. Tracking parameters are trailing characters in a URL that provide no benefit to the user, designed to help the website track them. To get around Brave and Firefox stripping out the tracking parameters, Facebook is working to encrypt its URLs.

    Facebook is specifically encrypting the URLS rather than simply changing their parameters in an effort to prevent the browser makers from adapting. URL stripping is based on known tracking parameters. Once Facebook changes the parameters, the browser makers would simply adapt and filter out the new ones. Encrypting the URLs makes it exponentially more difficult, if not impossible, for the browser makers to adapt.

    Facebook has a long and well-established reputation for ignoring privacy and going to great lengths to collect any and all information it can on users. Its latest effort completely ignores users’ preferences by bypassing protections they have opted to use. What’s worse, the company has shown the rest of the industry how to bypass this protection.

  • Facebook Is Testing Multiple Profiles per Account

    Facebook Is Testing Multiple Profiles per Account

    In its quest to remain relevant in the face of newer, hipper rivals, Facebook is testing the ability to have multiple profiles per account.

    Facebook may be the 800-pound gorilla in the social media space, but it is increasingly pressured by newer rivals that are capturing the younger market. According to BGR, Facebook is testing the ability to have up to five separate profiles per account.

    The idea behind the feature is to give users an easy way to fine-tune who they share information with. For example, a user could have a work profile for colleagues but share more intimate information with their friends or family profile.

    The new feature will not impact Facebook’s user statistics, as the company will only count accounts, not profiles. Nonetheless, fine-tuning the data people share on Facebook and with whom they share it seems like a wonderful way for Facebook to learn more about its users and a terrible idea for end-user privacy.

  • $5.5 Million — That’s the Price Americans Want for Their Search History

    $5.5 Million — That’s the Price Americans Want for Their Search History

    A new report demonstrates Americans may value their search history a little more than some companies may have expected, putting a $5.5 million price tag on it.

    Google and Facebook have led to a massive erosion of privacy, as users have been willing to trade away their personal information for the free services the companies, and many others, provided. In recent years, however, users have begun pushing back, valuing their privacy more and more. According to a survey by SimpleTexting, Americans are finally valuing their search, putting a price tag of $5.5 million on it.

    SimpleTexting surveyed 3,000 US participants to see just how much they valued their search results and what they would give up in exchange for making it public. The results were surprising.

    • Users would require $5.5 million in exchange for making their search history public.
    • 1 in 4 users would give up their car for a year instead of making their search public.
    • Nearly 3 in 10 would rather give up their smartphone for a year.
    • Nearly 7 in 10 would rather give up alcohol for a year.
    • 2 in 5 would rather give all streaming services for a year.
    • More than 1 in 3 would give up rather give up sex for a year.

    The survey is good news for privacy advocates and hopefully indicates increased awareness of the importance of privacy.

  • DC Attorney General Suing Mark Zuckerberg Over Cambridge Analytica

    DC Attorney General Suing Mark Zuckerberg Over Cambridge Analytica

    Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is suing Mark Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica scandal in an effort to hold the CEO personally liable.

    Cambridge Analytica improperly acquired the data of tens of millions of Facebook users, resulting in one of the biggest scandals in the company’s history. The fallout has continued to haunt Facebook, but AG Racine is wanting to make sure Zuckerberg pays for the scandal personally.

    “Since filing our landmark lawsuit against Facebook, my office has fought tooth and nail against the company’s characteristic efforts to resist producing documents and otherwise thwart our suit. We continue to persist and have followed the evidence right to Mr. Zuckerberg,” said AG Racine.

    In particular, AG Racine makes the case that Zuckerberg was personally involved in the policies and decisions that opened the door for the Cambridge Analytica debacle.

    “The evidence shows Mr. Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook’s failure to protect the privacy and data of its users leading directly to the Cambridge Analytica incident,” AG Racine added. “This unprecedented security breach exposed tens of millions of Americans’ personal information, and Mr. Zuckerberg’s policies enabled a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook’s wrongful conduct. This lawsuit is not only warranted, but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions.”

    Should this lawsuit move forward and gain traction, it could be the beginning of a very difficult time for Zuckerberg.

  • Facebook Killing Off Its Podcast Business

    Facebook Killing Off Its Podcast Business

    Facebook has announced it is killing off its podcast service, barely a year after getting into the business.

    The podcast market has become an increasingly competitive industry, with Apple, Spotify, and Google all competing for market share, in addition to countless smaller rivals. Facebook first announced its service in April 2021, but is now killing off Soundbites and its central audio hub as part of an effort to better focus on core business interests.

    “We’re constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences,” a Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg in an email.

    The move is not entirely surprising, given Mark Zuckerberg’s obsession with the metaverse and his company’s place in it.

  • Meta Investigating Sandberg For Allegedly Using Company Resources to Help Activision’s CEO

    Meta Investigating Sandberg For Allegedly Using Company Resources to Help Activision’s CEO

    Sheryl Sandberg has been a staple at Facebook and Meta for years, but the executive is now accused of improperly using company resources to help Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

    Kotick has been under fire for allegedly knowing about, and turning a blind eye to, sexual harassment and discrimination issues within Activision. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sandberg was dating Kotick when reporters were investigating him. During this time, Sandberg allegedly worked with Kotick to pressure Daily Mail reporters to drop their investigation.

    Sandberg, who serves as Meta’s Chief Operating Officer, worked with a team comprised of Facebook and Activision employees, as well as paid outside consultants. In both 2016 and 2019, Sandberg contacted Daily Mail to dispute elements of their reporting.

    While many do not believe Sandberg directly threatened Daily Mail in either interaction, some believe any contact by the executive could be viewed as a threat, given the power Facebook wields over the news industry and the traffic it relies on.

    A spokesperson for Meta gave the following statement to WSJ:

    “Sheryl Sandberg never threatened the MailOnline’s business relationship with Facebook in order to influence an editorial decision.”

    Despite the statement, the company is clearly concerned of some impropriety, and is now investigating whether Sandberg crossed a line.

  • Canada May Force Online Giants to Pay News Publishers

    Canada May Force Online Giants to Pay News Publishers

    Canada is looking to follow in Australia’s example, forcing online giants to pay news publishers in exchange for their content.

    News publishers and online giants, such as Google and Facebook, have fought against paying traditional news publishers for their content when they link to it. The tech companies have maintained that news publishers gain more than they do just from being linked to, but news publishers have disputed those claims.

    Australia recently passed legislation to force Google and Facebook to pay publishers for news, leading to a short-lived standoff when Facebook refused, before eventually capitulating. Canada seems to be going down the same road, introducing legislation that would force the companies to pay news publishers for the content they use, according to CBC.

    “The news sector is in crisis,” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez told a press conference Tuesday. “Traditionally, advertising has been a major source of revenue for the news business. That’s less and less the case. I would say the reality is grim.”

    “News outlets and journalists must receive fair compensation for their work,” Rodriguez continued. “It shouldn’t be free.”

    Given the precedent Australia has established of forcing tech giants to comply, it’s likely Canada will also succeed.

  • Facebook Locking Users Out and Giving Them No Recourse

    Facebook Locking Users Out and Giving Them No Recourse

    Facebook users are reportedly being wrongly locked out of their accounts for ‘not following Community Standards,’ and have no recourse.

    According to the BBC, Facebook users are being told their accounts have been locked for violating the company’s standards, even though they don’t appear to be doing anything wrong.

    “Your Facebook account was disabled because it did not follow our Community Standards. This decision can’t be reversed.”

    PR consultant Jen Roberts told BBC she hadn’t used her account in sometime, making the action more than a little suspect.

    “I haven’t posted anything or commented for quite some time, so it’s extremely unlikely that I’ve done anything that could be construed as offensive,” she said.

    “All of the images from my university years and family occasions are on Facebook,” she continued, highlighting the problems with relying on the social media giant for digital memories.

    “I will no longer have access to 15-plus years of content, which is genuinely sad.

    “It is also quite stressful not knowing what the issue is, and having no recourse to resolve it. To be given no warning and then no way to access our own data is mindboggling.”

    Facebook is aware of the issue and, according to Meta’s Andy Stone, is working on a fix.

    We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues accessing their Facebook accounts and we are working to resolve them as quickly as possible.

    Andy Stone (@andymstone) April 1, 2022