Mass. — Thousands of Facebook and Instagram users believe a flaw in Meta’s security AI has led to false accusations of child sexual exploitation, causing Meta to unfairly suspend or ban their accounts.
Many report problems contacting Meta to fix the problem and get their accounts back.
Boston 25 first reported on these so-called “Meta Lockouts” in December, along with Meta’s efforts to improve account recovery for impacted users. Since then, more users have come forward to share what happened to them. Boston 25 spoke with three Meta users who have tried to clear their names and regain access to their accounts.
USERS BLOCKED
Linda O’Connor is a great-grandmother in Danvers. Her Facebook account was disabled following accusations of child sexual exploitation late last year. O’Connor says Meta never told her what post or photo triggered the block, but she suspects the platform may have improperly flagged a family photograph of her with her first great-grandchild.
“As a great-grandmother to be accused of something that vicious, that horrible, is more than devastating,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said she uses the platform to maintain connections with her family and friends, read and share news, post photos, sharing writings, and learn about other people. She said she feels isolated by her lack of access, and hurt by Meta’s accusation.
“I want to connect with my family,” O’Connor told Boston 25. “I want to connect with people I haven’t seen, with my son who lives a thousand miles away.”
Rachel Froio owns Wicked Wings in Billerica. Her Instagram account was shut down in January, also over allegations of child sexual exploitation.
Froio uses Instagram to attract customers, and finds it particularly effective with teens who visit her restaurant after school. She believes her account was flagged after she posted a video praising her staff.
“I shared a Wicked Wings reel of our employees and I said ‘love these kids,’” Froio said. The accusation that followed was unsettling.
“What they accused me of, I would never do that,” Froio said.
Cheryl Gilson owns PrintWorks in Walpole. The holidays and graduation are two of the busiest times of year for her small printing business. She used to rely on Facebook to help advertise her services during peak times of the year.
Gilson told Boston 25 Meta suspended her accounts in 2024 following what she suspects was an attempted hack. Despite trying repeatedly to reach Meta and reclaim her accounts, she says she’s still blocked and losing business.
“Especially graduation and the holidays, we were down a lot because I couldn’t post anything,” Gilson said, adding the loss of access cost her several thousand dollars compared to the year before.
COMPLAINTS FILED & PETITIONS SIGNED
Linda O’Connor and Cheryl Gilson both filed complaints against Meta with Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office. A review of the AG’s online database found more than 300 complaints against Meta in 2025. Boston 25 reached out to the AG’s office for comment specifically on complaints related to lockouts and advice from its consumer protection division, but our request was denied.
An online petition on the website Change.org has nearly 56,000 signatures as of January 30th, 2026. It seeks to “Hold Meta Accountable,” accusing Meta of “wrongfully disabling accounts with no human customer support.” It also notes “this is not an isolated glitch.”
The petition accuses Meta of “a widespread, systemic failure that has erased businesses, destroyed livelihoods, and cut people off from years of memories, relationships and vital communications.” It also links to news reports from Australia to Europe to the United States.
META & ITS A.I. RESPOND
Meta is aware of the complaints. Tech companies, including Meta, are under increasing pressure to ensure their sites are safe and secure for users, and especially for children. This includes doing more to protect users from hacks and to stop the spread of illicit or illegal deepfake content.
When asked for comment, Meta said it would reach out to the users in our story and try to help them regain access to their accounts. Meta ultimately referred Boston 25 News to an online post about improving access to account support.
“Our AI-powered security systems are getting better at protecting your account thanks to smarter AI and stronger security tools,” Meta says online, adding account hacks are down 30% worldwide in the last year.
“Our advancements in AI have also helped us increasingly avoid disabling accounts by mistake better than ever before,” the post continues. “And if an error does happen, our appeals process is now faster and easier, with fewer steps and AI assistance for eligible cases that helps you get a decision sooner.”
With Meta’s AI at the center of some of user complaints, Boston 25 turned to Meta’s chat AI for its take on the situation.
“Legally, Meta’s terms of service typically shield them from liability,” the AI responded, “but morally, it’s a different story.”
RESULTS MAY VARY
Rachel Froio of Wicked Wings in Billerica said Meta restored access to her accounts within a few days. She followed prompts on her accounts after discovering they were flagged and disabled. For her, the AI account recovery process worked.
Linda O’Connor said a Meta representative called her after Boston 25 reached out. She was told a new email would be needed to restore her access, which she provided. She was still waiting days later.
Cheryl Gilson, who hasn’t had access to her accounts in more than year, told Boston 25 she still hasn’t heard from Meta and is still locked out.
Some users elect to start over entirely and build new profiles from scratch. But for business owners like Gilson, it can hard to rebuild a customer base. She’s also lost the reviews customers would leave on her profile.
“If it w just a matter of my own personal page, I would have just created a new one,” Gilson said. “But where it’s linked to my business, that’s the one I really want back because... It’s impacting my whole business and whole word of mouth with people leaving reviews.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO
At least some states are looking into complaints alleging Meta has improperly locked out users.
“They have a responsibility to do better by the people on their platforms, and we would like to see that,” said Shawn Conroy, Consumer Protection Director with the Georgia Attorney General’s office.
If you’re locked out, first follow the prompts from Meta. You can also find information on account recovery on Meta’s Account Recovery Support page as well as facebook.com/hacked.
If that doesn’t work, consider filing a complaint with your Attorney General’s office. In Massachusetts, you can do so easily online.
Many users, like Linda O’Connor, are also opting to add their names to the Change.org petition demanding more action from Meta to help them recover their photos, messages, and memories.
“I’m owed an explanation,” O’Connor told Boston 25. “I think the explanation will be sufficient enough to say, ‘yeah - we bad, we fix.’”
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