Have you heard about small businesses having their Facebook and Instagram accounts wrongfully shut down, in some cases severely impacting their business? Here’s a look into what has happened and how you can help to protect your business from the impact of something similar.
Many WA businesses rely on their Meta accounts (which include Facebook and Instagram) to reach their customers and potential customers online. Social media can be an efficient way to promote your business, build community or even take orders or bookings, and it’s even more attractive because it’s free to get started. But when things go wrong, an account shutdown can have a devastating impact on your business.
Here are some things to know about this situation – and what you can do to help protect your business from the impact of a sudden social media account shutdown.
Meta account shutdowns on the rise
In some recent cases, Meta has allegedly shut down Facebook or Instagram pages set up by small businesses without warning, citing that the account is in breach of its standards relating to child abuse and inappropriate content. Channel 9's A Current Affair reports around 10 million accounts have been disabled since the start of 2025. Businesses in the beauty, fitness or photography industries are reportedly represented in businesses impacted by these wrongful shutdowns.
While posting abusive or inappropriate content are very valid reasons to shut down an account, these businesses have contested that they haven’t actually broken any rules, and have followed the right advice when implementing social media marketing.
How social media bans can pose risks to your business
For many small businesses, Instagram and Facebook are among the main channels they use to keep in touch with clients and sell their products and services, so the impact of a sudden and wrongful shut down can pose a huge risk to running the business. This is particularly the case when a business relies entirely on its social media presence for promotion or sales. The financial impact can be sudden, with no ability to take bookings or contact clients. The business can also face damage to their reputation for having their Meta accounts shut down.
"It's a huge financial hit, but it's also reputational damage to be linked to something quite unsavoury on the internet," said the SBDC’s Director of Business Advisory Services, Caragh Waller.
"All of this can add up to a lot of stress as a business owner, particularly when it happens without warning."
How to prevent these risks to your business
It’s important to keep in mind that Meta accounts, along with any third party platforms you use for business, can be shut down without notice for a range of reasons outside of your control. While many businesses believe their business accounts are completely their asset, the platform and permissions are still owned by Meta while the content is owned by the business. If Meta believes that a business has violated their terms of service or community guidelines, they may flag or delete accounts.
While you can’t control a shut down happening, you can have plans and supports in place to make sure that if something was to happen, your business isn’t relying on those accounts to operate.
Caragh offers the following advice.
"We would advise businesses to be careful about having all your eggs in the Meta basket."
"It's akin to building a house on someone else's land. Your house is your business, so make sure you own the land."
"The key is to strengthen your online presence independently of other platforms."
What can you do to protect against Meta shutdowns
- Build your online presence through your own website. This way, you can direct customers to a platform where you can control the content. Our SBDC business advisers can provide guidance on getting set up if you need it – and we also have low cost small business workshops about setting up websites and online stores to help walk you through this process.
- Work on growing and maintaining your email marketing list. Email marketing allows you to get in touch with customers directly rather than relying on social media platforms.
- Don’t rely solely on third party platforms like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok for your marketing. Use these as part of your sales and marketing strategy but make sure you also have a range of other options in place.
What to do if your Facebook or Instagram account gets shut down
If your business account on Facebook or Instagram gets suspended, here are some steps you can take:
- Follow the Meta appeal and review process for the account which has been suspended. Meta has indicated they are committed to restoring accounts who are doing the right thing.
- Get in touch with your customers. If you have a strong mailing list, it’s easy to get in touch with your customers to let them know about the shutdown and how they can continue to access your products and services. For example, you might need to let your customers know you can’t take Instagram bookings but they can email you or use your online calendar.
- Contact our free small business advisory service for support. You can contact us online or call 133 140. Our business advisers can help you with the next steps to take and guide you on how to protect your business from this kind of situation in the future.
Find out more
For more details, explore our free business advisory service or sign up to our SBDC small business news to get the latest information to help you run your business.
