Toronto-based marketing and communications manager Jasmine Ault says Meta permanently disabled her Facebook account and two Instagram accounts on 24 September, cutting her off from 20 years of photos, contacts and personal memories.
After an appeal was closed within minutes, Ault created another Instagram account and paid for Meta Verified Standard, hoping the subscription would give her a better route to support. She told CBC News that she instead encountered another AI chatbot, which closed her support ticket.
The case raises questions about how users can obtain human help when automated support fails. However, public reporting has not established that Meta erased Ault's underlying data or that AI made the original decision to disable her accounts.
Twenty Years of Facebook Access Cut Off Overnight
Ault opened her Facebook account in 2006, the same year Facebook expanded registration to anyone with a valid email address. She later created a personal Instagram account in 2011 and another Instagram account for her dog.
Ault says all three accounts were disabled on 24 September.
Screenshots she shared with CBC News said her Facebook account 'doesn't follow our rules'. She said Meta did not tell her which rule had allegedly been broken.
Ault suspects someone may have tried to hack her Facebook account shortly before it was disabled. The Canadian Press reported that she found records of suspicious login attempts and that Meta had associated her phone number with a person in India.
There is no confirmation that a hack caused Meta to take action against her accounts.
Ault said she stayed awake for about 26 hours trying to recover them. She also said her appeal was closed within minutes and that she was told she could not appeal again.
Paying for Meta Verified Still Led Back to AI
After the appeal route closed, Ault created a backup Instagram account and subscribed to Meta Verified Standard.
CBC News reported that the plan she chose cost US$14.99 per month. Ault said she believed paying for Meta Verified would give her a better chance of reaching someone who could review what had happened.
Instead, she said she encountered another AI chatbot.
According to CBC News, the chatbot closed her ticket and told her that she had reached her limit for support interactions.
CBC News also reported that higher Meta verification tiers advertised additional support options. Premium, costing US$150 per month, and Max, at US$500 per month, mentioned the ability to 'request a call from an agent'.
Prices, features, eligibility and availability can vary by market and account type.
Meta did not respond to CBC News's questions about Ault's individual case. Separately, when contacted by The Canadian Press, a Meta spokesperson pointed to a company post about account support and its AI support assistant.
The spokesperson did not explain how someone with a deactivated account could directly reach a human representative.
More Than a Social Media Profile
For Ault, losing access goes beyond a social media inconvenience.
Her Facebook account had become an archive covering much of her adult life. She said it contained years of photographs, conversations, contacts and memories.
She compared the experience to losing belongings in a fire.
There was also a professional impact. Ault works full-time in marketing and communications and said she had previously used social media to find clients for her consulting work.
Without access to the accounts, she said potential clients could no longer see the portfolio and connections she had built there.
Meta Says Humans Still Play a Role in High-Risk Appeals
Meta has been expanding AI-powered support across Facebook and Instagram.
In March 2026, the company said it was rolling out its Meta AI support assistant in countries and territories where Meta AI was available. The tool provides 24/7 help with account issues and can assist with tasks including passwords, settings and information about appeal options.
Meta has also stressed that increased use of AI does not mean human judgement has been removed from its most consequential enforcement decisions.
The company said people would continue to play a key role in its 'highest risk and most critical decisions', specifically citing appeals of account disablement.
That statement does not establish who reviewed Ault's appeal or how much human involvement there was in her case. Nor does it mean users are necessarily able to speak directly with the people involved in Meta's internal review process.
That distinction is at the centre of Ault's experience. She says that after her accounts were disabled and her appeal failed, even paying for Meta Verified did not enable her to reach a person who could resolve the dispute.
For users who have spent years building personal and professional lives on Facebook and Instagram, that leaves a broader question: when automated customer support reaches its limit, how can they reach a human?
