INDIANAPOLIS — WRTV Investigates is tracking complaints from Facebook users who say they were wrongly accused of violating the app’s policies, including child sexual exploitation standards.
'I’m locked out of everything': Restaurant owner contacted WRTV Investigates
As a realtor and owner of three Jordans Fish and Chicken restaurants, Christina Hodgeson relies on Facebook to communicate with customers.
Christina says on March 30, she was on the app when she got a notification out of the blue, telling her she violated community standards on child sexual exploitation.
“It said this account has been deactivated,” said Christina. “I was just appalled. I'm a mother, and I would never do anything that had to do with child exploitation, and I just thought it was very offensive.”
Christina said she had no idea what triggered the violation, but she tried to dispute it with Meta, but that didn’t work.
“I didn’t know what else to do, and that’s when I thought about turning to you,” Christina told WRTV Investigates.
Christina says her personal account is connected to a Jordans Fish and Chicken page, which she says is now hacked and posting Asian drama videos.
“What are our customers thinking right now? Because I can't even post on there and say, 'Hey, just FYI, here’s what’s going on,'” said Christina.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, does not have a customer service phone number that WRTV Investigates could find.
“I think it’s terrible for individuals or business owners like ourselves,” said Christina. “We spend years building our client base and having connections with people all across the world.”
Federal Trade Commission receives complaints from Meta users
WRTV Investigates filed a records request with the Federal Trade Commission, a federal agency that oversees Meta.
We found complaints filed by Meta users across the world, saying they were wrongfully accused of violating community standards.
- “The system claimed that I had violated community guidelines related to child sexual exploitation nudity, which is entirely false,” reported one Meta user in Taiwan. “I have never posted any such content.”
- “This is extremely serious and has caused harm to my reputation, my mental well-being and business,” wrote a consumer in New York. “I want to state clearly and unequivocally I have never posted, engaged in, shared, or participated in anything even remotely related to such behavior.”
- “On June 3, 2025, both my Facebook and Instagram accounts were permanently disabled,” read another complaint filed with the FTC. “I was accused of violating Meta's Community Standards, specifically regarding child sexual exploitation, abuse, and nudity, which are extremely serious and harmful accusations.”
The FTC has not yet agreed to speak with WRTV about what it's doing to address the problem.
More than 64,000 people have signed an online petition that blames Meta’s AI moderation system.
Brittany Watson founded People Over Platforms Worldwide, a nonprofit pushing Meta to make changes.
“These platforms wanted us to put our lives online, and now that we have, we shouldn’t be able to have our accounts disabled or suspended, especially with no proof or transparency as to why,” said Watson.
Watson has heard from consumers all over the world who are locked out of their accounts and have been unable to reach Meta to resolve the situation.
"I want them to actually acknowledge the harm this is doing to thousands of people,” said Watson. “I want them to change their AI system."
'People can appeal': Meta issues response to WRTV Investigates
WRTV Investigates contacted Meta about Christina’s case and complaints related to alleged violations of community standards.
“We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake,” read a statement from Meta.
According to data on their website, Meta is taking an increasing number of actions for child sexual exploitation.
From Jan-March 2025, Meta took action on 4.6 million pieces of content compared to 9.9 million from October-December 2025.
The technology company says it uses a combination of people and technology to find and remove accounts that break its rules.
They’ve also launched an Account Recovery & Support hub that offers support for users.
Meta told us they’re always working to improve enforcement of their policies, including their child nudity and exploitation policy, to help keep the community safe.
The company admits that no system is perfect, which is why they give people the opportunity to appeal if a user feels Meta got it wrong.
Meta says it is looking into what happened with Christina Hodgeson’s account.
After WRTV Investigates started asking questions, the Chinese drama videos were removed from the Jordans Fish and Chicken page, but Christina is still locked out.
“The situation is going to get worse, and if somebody doesn't actually hold them accountable, nothing's going to happen,” said Christina.
HELPFUL LINKS FROM META:
- Making it Easier to Access Account Support on Facebook and Instagram
- Scam Prevention Hub
- Passkeys on Facebook for an Easier Sign-In
- How two-factor authentication works on Facebook
- Using Security Checkup to add security to your Facebook account
- Security Tips and Features
- Facebook alerts for suspicious friend requests
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