United Kingdom
In 2025 the BBC heard from more than 500 people whose Meta accounts had been disabled, many accused of breaking child sexual exploitation rules. Ofcom oversees platforms under the Online Safety Act 2023 but does not resolve individual disputes; Facebook and Instagram are on its register of Category 1 services, whose extra duties are still being finalised. Which? warns that strangers offering to recover hacked accounts are scammers.
As of 2026-10-26
Know this first
- Some Online Safety Act duties, including those specific to Category 1 services, are still being finalised by Ofcom. Check Ofcom’s website for what applies now.
Regulators and public bodies
Online Safety Act 2023, section 21 (opens in a new tab)
legislation.gov.uk
Section 21 of the Act sets duties about complaints procedures, including appeals by users who have been warned, suspended or banned.
Online Safety Act 2023, section 72 (opens in a new tab)
legislation.gov.uk
Section 72 requires Category 1 services to state in their terms that users who are suspended or banned for breaching the terms have a right to bring a claim for breach of contract.
Ofcom publishes Register of Categorised Services (opens in a new tab)
rpclegal.com
According to RPC, Ofcom’s register lists Facebook and Instagram as Category 1 services. The consultation on the additional Category 1 duties closed on 2 October 2026, with final decisions expected in mid-2027.
Online safety super-complaints (opens in a new tab)
ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom’s super-complaints regime, open since 1 January 2026 according to Ofcom, lets eligible organisations — not individuals — raise systemic problems with online services.
Online safety complaints and trends (opens in a new tab)
ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom’s freedom-of-information response says its online safety complaints portal records categories such as action taken against a user’s account, and that Ofcom does not resolve individual disputes but oversees platforms’ compliance.
Scam warnings
Scam alert: social media hacking on the rise (opens in a new tab)
which.co.uk
Which? warned that anyone who contacts you on social media offering to recover a hacked account is a scammer. Action Fraud received 22,530 reports of hacked accounts in 2023.
Reporting
Meta accounts being disabled for unclear reasons (opens in a new tab)
bnnbloomberg.ca
Citing a BBC investigation, the report said more than 500 people had contacted the BBC, many saying they had been wrongly accused of breaking child sexual exploitation rules. Some accounts were restored only after the BBC contacted Meta’s press office.
Please note
This page collects public material as general information. It is not legal advice. Bodies and procedures change, so check the original link before you apply.
For step-by-step official procedures, see the recovery guide.