Instagram/Facebook account blocks are not legal

Recently, we have increasingly heard that Facebook or Instagram accounts have been blocked or deleted suddenly and without warning. The background to this is apparently a large-scale campaign by the Meta Group to remove so-called fake follower accounts. In order to catch as many of these unwelcome fake accounts as possible, it was probably accepted that real accounts would also be blocked during the campaign. They then wanted to take care of them afterwards…

The fact that this “caring” can sometimes take many weeks, during which those affected are completely up in the air, doesn’t really seem to bother anyone at Meta.

Those affected are not defenceless

Fortunately, those affected are not defenceless. The BGH has declared Facebook’s terms and conditions for deleting posts and blocking users to be invalid (judgment of 29.07.2021, ref. III ZR 179/20). Accordingly, user accounts may not be blocked without asking. The affected users must be informed of the intended account blocking and given the opportunity to respond. If Facebook has failed to do this, as in most cases, the blocking is ineffective and the account must be unblocked.

Even if the FB/Insta guidelines provide for groundless blocking, accounts may not be blocked without a legitimate reason (see Saarlouis Local Court, judgment of 01.04.2020, ref. 25 C 1233/19). If a breach of the terms of use is suspected, a profile may be blocked until the suspicion has been clarified. However, it must then be restored immediately (LG Frankenthal, judgment of 08.09.2020, ref. 6 O 23/20 on Facebook) and, importantly (!), to the state it was in before it was blocked.

If the Meta Group does not provide a reason for blocking, i.e. if the blocking of the profile is unjustified, it is unlawful and must be lifted (see LG München II, Urt. v. 16.12.2020, Ref. 11 O 5166/20; LG Bielefeld, Judgement of. 30.3.2021, ref. 5 O 63/21).

Let us help you

So much for the theory. However, anyone who has ever tried to contact Facebook or Instagram knows that this is quite difficult (if not impossible). There is no hotline, emails are generally ignored in the first instance and you will also search in vain for a German postal address. Experience shows that even when influencer accounts (100T followers and more) are blocked, the meta group only reacts when concrete legal action is threatened.

If you are affected, it is therefore advisable to seek help from a suitable specialist lawyer right away. Our partner in legal matters, Christian Koch from KKP, is a specialist lawyer for IT, media and copyright law and has successfully taken action against such account or post deletions several times in the past.

Are you affected? Then make your life easier and get help.

Yours