It’s a typical day. You’re sipping your morning coffee while scrolling through your phone. Suddenly, you notice something strange – your Facebook account is disabled. You’re not alone. You may wonder if it is a Facebook ban.
Several years ago I wrote about having more than one administrator for your Facebook page as a safety net on your account. Well, recently many people are getting messages about a Facebook ban and that their business page is disabled.
Why the Facebook ban? Back in 2020, 2 million people received a Facebook ban including yours truly. Ever since 2020, many people have been banned from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, some for no reason.
For me, back then it in 2020 happened on a Friday evening all at the same time with 2 million others. Was the Facebook ban intentional or an error?
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Why The Disabling Of Accounts?
Or could the event have been part of the Facebook censorship coming down on innocent people? I’m not sure anymore.
Since the Facebook ban happened I want to help you prepare in case you become part of a future Facebook ban. Learn what you can do if your Facebook account is disabled.
There has been an update as of December 2021. Facebook now offers LIVE CHAT support for those who have been locked out of their accounts.
Facebook says it’s now testing “live chat help for some English-speaking users globally, including creators, who’ve been locked out of their accounts” according to The Verge.
However, if you have a business account you can talk with your Meta rep about any disabling of your Facebook page account.
Furthermore, Facebook has a set of Community Standards in place to ensure a safe and respectful environment for its users. These standards outline the types of content and behavior that are not allowed on the platform.
If a user is found to be in violation of these standards, their account may be disabled.
So be sure to know what the community standards are on Meta today.
Facebook Account Is Disabled Scam
Still in April of 2024 many businesses are receiving messages from Meta in Messenger that their business page has been disabled. I manage several pages and most of them were received in the past 2 weeks.
It looked official however, it appears to be a scam, so please do not click on the link.
I tried to post and comment on the pages that received the message and it worked fine so I knew it was not real. I’ve had another Meta page of a client that received bans 2x in the past 8 months.
It took a lot of phone calls to the Meta rep to get it straightened out.
Hellо —–
Your Business Page Has Been Disabled.
We are constantly updating our Meta Privacy Policy and Terms of Service We have temporarily suspended your page because someone told us that you violated our terms and conditions of service.
View details here:
Meta Security Team.
Preparing For A Facebook Ban
Yes, you think you are doing everything right on Facebook. But one day you may be caught up in the algorithms or a scam and lose access to your Facebook page or group.
I know many of you depend dearly on these for your blog or small business marketing. Many of my Inspire To Thrive readers may remember my story about being banned from Twitter.
The following tips can help you with that as well.
The first thing I would advise is OWNING your own property online. Yes, your own self-hosted blog or website is a must.
And be careful of who is hosting it. Do your research.
Why Your Own Website or Blog Is Imperative
You cannot rely on any of the social networks today for all your marketing needs. I’ve said this from day one here on Inspire To Thrive.
I began more than a decade ago with a retail website and then expanded that presence over to social media. I always managed 3 different networks and explored others along the way.
That’s how I’ve been doing it for over 10 years here on Inspire To Thrive. I’m always looking to see what social network is up and coming.
But we must focus more on our own blogs and websites for traffic today. Social media is becoming more fragmented than ever before.
Ryan Biddulph recently mentions something similar in one of his latest blog posts. In the blog post, Ryan claims “Social media is not the enemy but your attachment to social media is the problem.”
The bottom line – is don’t get too attached to any single social media platform and focus more on your own home in case you get a Facebook ban.
Take Facebook Connections Elsewhere
If you have great friends on Facebook and people that support your blog or business be sure to have their email addresses and or phone numbers.
Connect with others who you work with on Facebook – many bloggers and small businesses help each other on the platform and off as well as in hidden comments. I recommend this as many people are being banned on Facebook.
Add More Administrators to Your Facebook Business Pages
You may need more than one other person to manage your page if you get the Facebook ban. Prepare because you may not be able to reach that one other person quickly.
You may need to adjust a post delete something or add a special sale or an event. However, you will not be able to do that during a Facebook ban.
I was an administrator for a client of mine who got a Facebook account disabled a few months ago and I was still able to post to his business page.
Prepare Your Facebook Groups for Disabling of Facebook Account
Don’t forget your group’s administrators too. Plan for a group to get a future Facebook ban. Put a plan in place for the group if it becomes disabled as well.
Having an email newsletter could help with that. Consider being on another social media platform like MeWe as well. They offer groups just like Facebook.
Build Your Email Newsletter Base
Yes, email is still viable today. It still remains one of the top ways to communicate online with others. This is a fabulous way for you to communicate with others if you get the Facebook ban one day.
Have a great sign-up form on your own website or blog for readers to subscribe to.
According to Neil Patel: “Email marketing is still ranked as the most effective marketing channel, beating out social media, SEO, and affiliate marketing.”
RSS Feeds
The good old RSS feeds are also a must today. Call me old-fashioned but I love the RSS feed features for blogs.
People can subscribe in several different ways and if you use a tool like Triberr to push content out, an RSS feed is an invaluable tool.
So, What Happened Next With The Facebook Ban?
Back in 2020 I received a notification from Facebook to confirm myself and the ban was released. Throughout the ban, my scheduled posts from Agorapulse did go out.
Even a few in the Business Studio were sent out on the pages I manage. I could not respond to any Facebook messages but I could read them. However, you cannot directly post on Facebook while the Facebook account is disabled.
So, I must say: Be sure to have a scheduling tool for your Facebook page management.
Have You Seen A “Your Facebook Account Is Disabled” Message?
I’d love to know if you have experienced the Facebook ban or scam recently or in the past year or so.
Please leave a comment below so we can discuss it. ⬇⬇⬇
If you need help getting your Facebook account back check out Mari Smith’s FB hack post. It’s filled with some tips to get your Facebook account back to manage your pages and more.
Facebook Account Is Disabled – Understanding Why & What To Do Share on X
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon.
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Hello Lisa,
Just came to this post. Facebook sometimes behaves weirdly. A Few months back I changed my Internet service provider and they locked the account. I have to contact their support and need to upload some documents to get my account restore.
Regards,
Vishwajeet Kumar
Thanks Vishwajeet, that is for sure! Wow = I haven’t heard that one and I’ve changed mine 2x in the past 3 years. Interesting, thanks for sharing that with us. It may help others. Have a great day Vishwajeet!
Hi Lisa,
I am also facing the same issues but in Facebook ads, my Facebook business suit, where I can manage my ads is suspended. Now I am not able to create ads, delete ads.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Hi Peter, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. How long are you suspended on Facebook? Do you know why you received a ban?
I’ve banned by the Facebook only once. I knew one of my posts were not following the guidelines of fb that’s why I already removed that. I contacted them immediately and they uplifted the ban from my page. This took me around 30 days in order to get my account back.
Thanks for this valuable guide. This gonna helps to the many newbie like me to save their Facebook page from ban.
Hi Divya, Wow, 30 days! That’s a long time if you relied on it for business. I’m glad this guide will help you going forward. Welcome to Inspire To Thrive and thanks for sharing your experience with us here. Make it a great day!
Hi Lisa,
Thank you so much for providing such an authentic article on Facebook Ban. This is really helpful for the Facebook page owners from getting saved from the ban made by Facebook.
You are most welcome Priyanka. Welcome to Inspire To Thrive! Yes, I’ve heard of others since my writing this that have been banned from one part of Facebook vs. all of Facebook too. They are making changes so rapidly today I don’t think even they can keep up with them. Have a great day!
Hi Lisa,
Great points to take home here. I have not been banned before and not looking forward to it. However, as James noted, Twitter wrongly suspended his account for a few months, and a similar incident may happen to any of us on Facebook. Understanding what to do when it occurs is crucial. Hence, your article is timely and practical.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Moss, I’ve had several suspensions from Twitter over the years which turned into my most popular post of the decade here on Inspire To Thrive. It can happen to anyone. Some are permanent and some are temporary. Twitter has been over the top lately with it all though. Now Facebook is catching up 🙂 You are most welcome and I hope you take the steps to secure your account now. Make it a great day Moss. Thanks for coming by.
Hi Lisa!
So sorry to hear that you were affected by this! I’ve been fortunate not to have any Facebook bans yet but I am definitely paranoid about it, especially since I was wrongly suspended by Twitter for months before they corrected their mistake.
Your idea to add a second person as an admin is a great one and is something I hadn’t considered before, I’m going to do that now. Here’s hoping I never need it, but definitely best to be prepared!
– James McAllister
Hi James, Thank you. Don’t be sorry, every mistake or problem gives me more to write about 🙂 We make lemonade out of lemons, right? No need to be paranoid, just be sure to follow the steps, and then you will be PREPARED. That’s all you can do. And now there are so many new social network platforms out there that time spent on Facebook for the first time went down in December. I just read that yesterday, more to come! Make it a great day there James 🙂
Lisa,
Thankfully, I’m not much active in social media promotions. As Ryan said, blog commenting and blogging can help building network, greatly. Saying so, I’m not completely against social media, still, I feel one’s blog or website is imperative.
Hi Sathish, Yes, those working on blogs with most of their time can also network through blog commenting, communities and forums. Thanks for coming by on this one and make it a great day!
Yikes! I was so surprised to learn that you were caught up in the Facebook algorithms Lisa. These social media oligarchies (a term I’ve been using since I watched Mark R. Levin bashing them) are out of control. They’re openly targeting conservative voices yet are striking with a broad sword. You’re one of the last bloggers I’d expect to be banned.
On the other hand, I’m surprised neither Twitter nor Facebook have banned me yet (for my QuietNoLonger site). Last week, I downloaded my data files from both sites. (Not sure what I expect to do with them but it never hurts to have backups.) Like you, I’m concentrating on other alternatives to big tech. I’ve run into problems with embedded videos from tweets and YouTube that worked months ago and are now returning 404 errors. (I’ve even encountered this on major sites like Fox!) I’m trying to source my videos from BitChute and Rumble as I move ahead. Thanks for the Parler and Rumble tips. Can’t wait for Parler to get back online.
Hi Sherryl. I was surprised too 🙂 I hadn’t even posted personally in weeks on Facebook when I got the ban. But now I’m reading they are censoring things from the past as well though even then I didn’t have anything political there except about the Hydrocholorquine that I took for Lyme disease years ago. I’m surprised they have not banned you from that website Sherryl. Strange how they pick and choose as well. I love the Rumble video network. I still use YouTube from time to time but I love having the freedom of choosing between the two video sites now. You are most welcome for those tips 🙂 Thanks for coming by on this one and commenting. I hope you have a great week ahead.
It’s a shame though to expect to be banned for simply publishing conservative news. I source everything that I write about. I miss Parler!
This is great advice. I’ve been to FB jail before but it was before I owned a website. I am literally going to add another administrator today (just in case). I have a fairly large audience so it would be really terrible if I got a ban! Thanks for sharing – Nikki
Hi Nikola, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. What did you do to go to FB jail? If you can add 2 administrators I would do that too. You are most welcome and make it a great day there!
I work as a clinician in what Facebook considers vice categories: CBD, cannabis, and kratom. Recently Facebook has been flagging and removing content years old content including me holding my book Vitamin Weed and me teaching doctors about medical marijuana laws at a university. I’m scared now that I can’t even use Facebook to reach the doctors and patients that would buy my books or book a consultation with me.
Thank you for your advice. I currently don’t have any other admins on my account, but clearly I should as Facebook is cracking down on even normal accounts!
Hi Dr. Michele Ross. Welcome to Inspire To Thrive. Wow, I had not realized they were removing old content like that too. Yes, I do recommend you have at least 2 other admins for your page just in case. It’s always best to be prepared. There are other social sites out there now too like MeeWee and Minds I’m exploring more and will be writing about them in near future. If you do videos be sure to check the one on Rumble. Thanks for coming by with your input on this one Dr. Michele and have a great day.
Hi Lisa,
I couldn’t imagine you of all people got banned from FB. I see now that you caught up with wacky algorithm.
We always have to keep in mind that social media is all rented space. This is why Email is still a winner. I’ve been trying to get folks to join my email list but I need to do more work on that end. Maybe offering a free something lol.
Since this whole thing with FB and Twitter is going on, it really moved me to make sure I can capture peoples email.
And that’s a good thing because I engage every day on my list.
-Donna
Hi Donna, LOL, right? Yes, social media is most certainly a rented space. We have been saying it for years Donna. I agree email is a must today but we have to be careful with which service we go with. Some are also censoring and deleting people as well 🙁 I’m on my 2nd full week of not posting or engaging personally on FB and Twitter. I will be sharing the results in an upcoming post here. I will say this, I felt like I left the jungle. Time will tell if it will return to any form of normalcy or not. Meanwhile, many other alternative social network sites are gaining momentum and Parler is poised to come back as well. Social media I believe will become quite fragmented by the end of 2021.
Thanks for coming by on this one Donna and enjoy your day ahead and weekend.
Lisa, thanks much for the shout buddy 🙂 I spend no more than 5-10 minutes on social media these days for this specific reason. I figure it is easier and more profitable to be social through genuine blog comments on the blogs of buddies whose values mirror mine. Most of all, I befriend bloggers who value free and open speech through their blogs. Humans can agree to disagree, in a public setting, and still get along just fine.
Hi Ryan, you are most welcome. You have said it quite well! Values do make a difference in what we do and how we do it. I’m having a hard time finding humans that disagree and still get along just fine these days. But I’m still looking and always have hope 🙂 Without our health and hope, we have nothing. Thanks for coming by on this one Ryan and make it a great day and rest of the week there.
As you well know, I was banned from Fakebook for posting a true article from a website they did not like. More censoring of the truth which is what they like to do. I was banned for 24 hours from commenting on posts, 130 days from commenting/liking/unliking on groups or pages, and 30 days from commenting/sharing/hosting live videos. The article wasn’t even bad. Just for the record, don’t share anything from Clouthub to Fb or you’ll get smacked down.
I can’t understand why what happened to you, did. Made absolutely no sense. Their rules are getting me stringent and in favor of the left. Righties, Liberatarians, and others should beware.
Hi Bren, I think I was caught up in their algorithm. I had not posted anything since January 7th on my personal Facebook and it was about their FB page changes coming. Before that just about weather. Wow, 130 days on yours for those groups or pages? Very interesting. Has your ban come back yet? Facebook just wanted me to confirm myself to release my Facebook ban. I hope to hear from others who had the ban as well. Thanks for your input Bren and make it a great day there!