Woman’s Nightmare with Meta’s Customer Support After Painting Champagne Bottles

Fashion Influencer’s Instagram Account Restored After Champagne Brand’s Takedown Request

Lauren Holifield, a fashion influencer from Chattanooga, Tennessee, recently had her Instagram account reinstated after it was disabled due to a takedown request from champagne brand Veuve Clicquot. The incident highlights the challenges faced by content creators when navigating the complex world of intellectual property rights and social media platforms.

Influencer Marketing Agency Struggles to Reach Meta Support

Sharon Eva, Holifield’s agent and the founder of influencer marketing agency Fame by Influence, has encountered numerous cases of creators being unfairly banned from their accounts. Many of these bans appear to be the result of automated software decisions, and finding a human representative to appeal to is nearly impossible. Eva expressed her frustration, stating, “I don’t know why a company as large as Meta doesn’t have real customer service.”

Meta’s Lack of Customer Support Leads to Legal Action

In a small-claims lawsuit filed against Meta in California last year, a landscaping business owner who lost access to his personal and business accounts due to an apparent hack alleged, “Meta does not provide any phone number to reach a human being, or a valid e-mail to reach customer support. They make it impossible to get a hold of a human being.” This sentiment is echoed by many users who have faced similar issues with their accounts.

Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts maintains that the company provides support through various channels on its app and website. However, Eva contends that she exhausted these options without making progress. “We know that losing access to an account can be frustrating,” Roberts says. “We are consistently working to improve the customer service experience on our platforms.”

Grassroots Support Community Emerges on Reddit

Frustration with Meta’s support has led to the development of an active grassroots help community on Reddit, r/facebookdisabledme, which has 13,000 members. Users share recommendations, such as suing Meta, which has become more common in recent years. The European Union’s Digital Services Act, which went into effect in November 2022, requires transparency and redress over bans and other account issues, although the implementation of this new regime is still being studied.

Influencer’s Journey to Regain Account Access

After her account was banned, Holifield created a new Instagram account and built it up to 9,000 followers. She hired Eva to help her regain access to her original account, but the chances of success were uncertain. Holifield appealed directly to Veuve through Corsearch, a company that files takedown requests on behalf of brands. Despite her case having nothing to do with selling counterfeits, Corsearch requested receipts of Holifield’s Veuve purchases to authenticate them.

Kelley Gordon, an intellectual property attorney at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun, explains that it’s understandable for Veuve to want to control its appearances on social media, as any product mentioned on an influencer’s account might be perceived by followers as part of a brand partnership. “The underlying character and purpose of the account is the catch here,” Gordon says. “It’s within a trademark holder’s right to prevent confusion regardless of whether there’s positive spin on it.”

Account Restored, but Challenges Remain

After numerous emails to Meta and Corsearch, Holifield’s account was finally restored on February 27. However, her access to Meta’s ad manager, which is crucial for sharing post performance with sponsors, was not immediately reinstated. This prevented her from resuming her work on sponsored posts.

Holifield’s ad manager access was eventually restored two days after The Zero Byte contacted Meta about her situation. The company did not provide an explanation for its sudden action. Holifield now feels a sense of relief but remains cautious about mentioning companies or showing logos on her Instagram account, fearing potential takedowns in the future.

“I feel like I can breathe a little,” she said immediately after logging in successfully.

The incident has left Holifield wary of using certain words or drawing comparisons between products, as such actions have led to the takedown of other influencers’ accounts. With limited support available from Meta, Holifield says, “I don’t want to chance it.”