5 hours ago
Kiersten George, who runs a bakery business in Wivenhoe near Colchester, has experienced a nearly 50% drop in sales after her social media accounts were suspended without explanation.
The 47-year-old said she was left in tears when her Instagram and Facebook pages were suddenly frozen shortly after she posted a photo of a floral-themed cake on March 6, along with a promotional code celebrating one year since relocating her business to Wivenhoe.
According to Meta, the company that owns these platforms, businesses appealing suspensions must provide valid business verification documents, proof of ownership, and a clear explanation of their case. However, George has struggled to understand why her accounts were disabled.
"I wish I knew why and I think that's part of my torment and torture. What did I do?" she told BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson. "There was either something in the image or the picture or something that I said that was untoward."
Customers attempting to visit her pages are met with messages stating the "content isn't available."
George has been trying to contact Meta but says, "There are no humans at the end of the line - I don't know what else to do, I rely on it so much, it's infuriating." With Easter approaching, she fears the issue will not be resolved in time to recover her losses.
She reported that her pre-orders and sales were down 42% on Mother's Day compared to her usual weekend takings.
Jade Bartholomew, who runs an online marketing agency in Billericay, explained that Meta's moderation filters can be "very strict." She noted that agencies can sometimes contact Meta on behalf of clients when accounts are suspended but warned that using social media carries inherent risks.
"Users need to be made aware that social media sites are not perfect - we don't have any ownership of these pages," Bartholomew said.
The BBC has reached out to Meta for comment.
