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OTTAWA — A Toronto woman says Meta permanently shut down her Facebook and Instagram accounts without warning — and her only recourse has been to talk to AI chatbots.
Jasmine Ault told The Canadian Press she has not been able to reach a human being at Meta since the accounts were deleted on Sept. 24.
She said the company shut down her 20-year-old Facebook account, an Instagram account that dates back to 2011 and another Instagram account dedicated to her dog.
“It’s actually quite scary to think about the trust that we put in the social media platforms that can all be taken away in one day. Truly, all of your memories,” she said in an interview.
She said she has lost her social media contacts and is unable to let people know she hasn’t blocked them and isn’t ignoring them.
“There’s a dead end and I can’t even communicate to the people I want to communicate with,” Ault said.
She described the experience as isolating. “I can’t even look back at my memories. I can’t connect with anybody. I can’t see what anyone’s up to.”
Ault said she has only been able to talk to Meta’s AI chatbots, which have not been able to resolve the issue.
“If Facebook wants to be the main conglomerate for social media, they need to be accessible,” she said.
Media outlets have reported similar experiences among users of Meta’s platforms in the United States. In July, The New York Times profiled several users whose accounts were deleted by AI, and who then had to rely on AI to resolve the issue. Meta restored some of the accounts after the newspaper flagged them to the company.
Markus Giesler, a professor of marketing at York University, said social media platforms have become very important to people’s personal lives and careers, and suspending an account can have personal financial consequences.
“We like to think of this as a customer service case when in actuality it’s a case of platform accountability,” he said.
“These platforms have been woven so much into our social fabric, into who we are as individuals and communities, that access to them is really important.”
Giesler said efforts to regulate social media platforms should also address issues like access and being able to talk to a human being at a company.
The Canadian Press has reached out to a Meta spokesperson but has not yet heard back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
