Instagram and Threads moderation is out of control – bans for trifles and unfair deletions of accounts

The topic “Errors with moderation in Threads” is gaining popularity on the Threads social platform. Users are massively complaining about overly strict moderation, blocking or restriction of their accounts for publishing links to sites on controversial topics.

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According to The Verge, Threads is a mess. Many accounts are deleted because users are allegedly underage, although this is not true. The system also automatically restricts posts about real-life events, such as hurricanes. And posts mentioning crackers or the phrase “cracker jacks” are instantly deleted. A Verge journalist was banned after joking that she “wants to die” because of the heat.

Instagram✴ and Threads CEO Adam Mosseri is personally responding to some of these complaints and says he is “understanding the situation.” Meanwhile, social media consultant Matt Navarra, who received notice of his Threads account being downgraded after posting a story about Tom Brady falling for the Meta✴ AI prank, has received a response to his public complaint from Mosseri: “I’m dealing with it…”

The Verge journalist Umar Shakir’s Instagram account was suspended on Tuesday. Meta✴ stated that the reason was age – supposedly the author was under 13 years old, which is the minimum age to register on the platform. Meta✴ provided 30 days to appeal the decision, asking for a copy of the ID to be uploaded. The author sent his personal information, but after checking Meta✴ still insisted that he was under 13 years of age.

«Our system has detected that your account or activity on it does not comply with our rules. As a result, one of our employees took action,” the notification from Meta✴ reported. The decision was final, without the possibility of further objection. That is, all publications and connections created by Shakir over the years of using the account were lost. The author describes his condition as “a feeling of losing a part of myself.” At the same time, Meta✴ allowed the data to be downloaded before its final deletion, but the provided link turned out to be non-working.

It is noted that Meta✴ has long been under scrutiny from regulators regarding the use of its platforms by young people and is taking countermeasures by restricting the activities of underage users. But its algorithms seem to be failing both in recognizing the age of users and in the content they post.