After Meta abruptly shut down her accounts, a Toronto woman says she lost almost 20 years of photos, messages, and business contacts — and paying for extra support still didn't get her to a human being, according to CBC News.
Here's what to know
On Sept. 24, Toronto resident Jasmine Ault woke up to a notification saying Meta had permanently disabled her Facebook, Instagram, and a linked Instagram account for her dog.
She spent the next 26 hours trying to appeal the decision, only to receive a response within minutes saying her case was closed and could not be reopened.
Meta never explained what rule Ault had supposedly broken. Because she had noticed failed login attempts shortly before the suspension, she believes a hack may have caused Meta's moderation systems to flag her incorrectly.
"It feels like I've lost everything in a metaphorical fire with my digital albums and my digital memories," she told CBC News.
CBC said other Canadians have reported similar losses of long-running Meta accounts, including some used to promote small businesses and others removed after routine posts such as family-trip photos.
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Meta did not provide comment to CBC News.
CBC cited a ServiceNow/ThoughtLab survey of more than 34,000 customers, service staff, and executives that found half of customers said AI support's lack of empathy bothered them most.
Eighty-seven percent still favored phone calls, even though only 7% of executives expected to prioritize them.
More background
Ault said she paid for the standard Meta Verified subscription, which costs $14.99 a month, because she believed it would help her reach a person.
But the added subscription still led only to another AI chatbot, which quickly closed her ticket.
Only Meta's higher-priced Premium and Max tiers — at $150 and $500 per month — mention the option to "request a call from an agent."
York University marketing professor Ela Veresiu said companies keep moving customer service toward AI because of cost — bots are cheaper than paying people to be available at all hours.
She added that chatbots often struggle with more complex "why" questions, especially when someone is trying to undo a mistake.
Because Ault also uses social media to market her side business, the suspension harmed more than her personal memories, affecting possible income and client relationships as well.
What's being done?
According to experts who spoke with CBC, the clearest gap is regulation.
University of Toronto assistant professor and Human-Centered Data Science Lab director Shion Guha said the bigger problem isn't simply that automated systems make mistakes, but that users often lack a meaningful path to correct them.
"Any technical solution makes mistakes," Guha acknowledged. "What it's really about is that people lack a way to get the mistake fixed."
CBC also cited UBC law lecturer Jon Festinger, who noted that Canadians may have legal options when deleted accounts cause measurable harm, particularly for business users.
"It should be relatively easy to prove the damages, at least the reputational damage, and perhaps more," he observed.
The European Union's Digital Services Act requires platforms to be transparent and to provide a full appeals process for removed content.
In Canada, Bill C-36 would allow people to ask for an explanation and present their case in writing to an employee reviewing the decision when an automated system makes a choice with legal or other significant effects.
But it would not require companies to provide a path to a human customer service agent.
"Canadians should not lose access to years of personal information, memories and professional contacts without a clear explanation or a meaningful way to challenge the decision," AI Minister Evan Solomon's office told CBC News.
Where can I learn more?
This kind of frustration isn't limited to account suspensions. The articles here cover backlash to Meta's AI features and mistakes by Google and McDonald's AI systems.
• Meta drew backlash after AI-generated profiles on Instagram deepened complaints about fake activity.
• Google faced new frustration when its AI assistant repeatedly gave users wrong information.
• McDonald's faced scrutiny after an AI hiring platform error exposed millions of applicants.
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