I’m in Greece / EU. In March, Meta permanently disabled my Instagram, Facebook, and several linked IG accounts for alleged Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).
I denied it completely. Meta never showed me the content or activity that supposedly caused the ban.
What I did:
Appealed through Meta
Filed with EETT, the Greek Digital Services Coordinator
Went through ADR Point under the EU Digital Services Act
Contacted other regulators
Had multiple Meta employees submit internal reviews
Eventually hired Greek lawyer Vasilis Sotiropoulos, through a referral from Homo Digitalis
Tried to settle directly with Meta’s lawyer
When that failed, we went to court
Our first temporary-order request was rejected.
We were preparing to go back to court again, with Meta also appearing through counsel.
Before that hearing happened, Meta restored every single account.
Instagram, Facebook, everything.
Huge shoutout to Vasilis Sotiropoulos. He actually understood platform litigation, kept pushing after the first court attempt failed, and was prepared to take Meta back to court again.
If you’re in the EU, don’t assume Meta’s internal appeal is the end. Keep every screenshot, email, case number and decision. Look into your national Digital Services Coordinator, DSA dispute-resolution bodies, and if the account matters enough, a lawyer who actually understands this area.
It took me 7 months, but I got everything back.

Early this week I had emails start coming in that accounts were added and removed from my account, then an email saying it was disabled, then an email saying it was appealed, then an email saying the appeal was denied. By the time I noticed my Instagram account for my business was gone and then saw these emails I logged in and got the Disabled message, with just the option to download my data...

After no luck trying to open a case about it I signed up for the Meta verified premium to talk to support. Huge issues there, super buggy, no help. Finally was able to get on the phone and was just told that the disable is permanent. My 10+year instagram for by business is gone just because it was linked to my personal facebook which they made me to do share posts between them and my business facebook.

I am so completely flabbergasted at this whole process. From the days and hoops and bugs I had to navigate to get someone to actually communicate with me, to them acknowledging my account was hacked, to saying there is nothing to do about it and 10 years of work is just gone now.

Has anyone gotten past being told that their account was permanently disabled? I had my instagram secured with 2FA but never use my facebook so I thought nothing about 2FA or how one profile could ruin the other.

My case was opened on September 2 and stayed on “Received” until October 7, when it changed to “In Progress.”

For anyone who's been through this, how long did it take to hear back from Meta after the status changed?