Vy Tran feels completely helpless as she tries to navigate her next steps after her business social media accounts were disabled without notice.
It’s been a stressful week for the entrepreneur, who has become trapped in a battle with Meta to regain access to her accounts, which had been disabled over the weekend for breaching community guidelines.
It’s unclear why her accounts have been flagged but it’s had a devastating impact on her three businesses.
“These are my full-time jobs and I speak to all my clients and get all my orders through Instagram, that’s the main platform,” Ms Tran told AAP.
“We have no platform to promote … we have three events this weekend and we contact vendors through there, too.”
It’s been nearly a week since the accounts have been flagged, and Ms Tran is running out of ideas on what to do after her attempts to reach Meta failed.
She is disappointed with Meta’s response, adding the complaint process was done online with generic responses.
“It’s just a really difficult situation,” she said.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s report released on Thursday spotlights the ongoing issues facing users who are contacting the regulator for help.
Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert told AAP it’s becoming increasingly common to hear from people locked out of their social media, with no one available to help.
“Small businesses (are) being locked out of their accounts often with no explanation and no avenue to appeal. They’re losing money in sales and it’s damaging reputations,” Ms Gebert says.
“It is hitting people’s livelihood when they can’t navigate the opaque systems to get your complaints addressed through the platforms themselves.”
Ms Gebert says laws do not allow the ombudsman to help users resolve disputes and is calling for powers to be expanded to close a key consumer protection gap.
“It’s really challenging when you hear people telling you heart-wrenching stories around the impact it’s had on their lives and they have nowhere to go,” she said.
“We are really calling on the government to deliver on this because it’s consumers that are getting hurt through the process.”
The call is backed by business owner Miranda Richards.
The entrepreneur runs Envy Beauty in Brisbane and only recently regained access to her social media accounts after being banned for breaching guidelines two months ago.
She also felt confused when her personal account along with her business account was taken down, with efforts to speak with someone at Meta unsuccessful.
She even contemplated heading to Instagram Meta HQ in Sydney to take action, with at least $6000 of sales lost during those months.
“It was just really disappointing that there was no one to get in touch with… (so) you’re just left in limbo essentially,” Ms Richards told AAP.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has criticised tech companies over their handling of disputes, recommending an external dispute resolution body to help small businesses.
Meta has been approached for comment.
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