Meta Social Platforms Face Account Suspension Crisis: Taiwan's Digital Ministry Demands Adjustment of Age Verification Tools

(Taipei, June 16, reporter Zhao Minya) Meta's social platforms, including Threads, Instagram, and Facebook, have recently experienced a series of unannounced account suspension incidents. Some adult users received system notifications stating their accounts were locked due to being 'under 13 years old.' The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) announced today that it is continuously urging Meta to promptly resolve account reinstatement and to review and optimize its age verification tools.

MODA stated that a technical issue during the implementation of Meta's age verification mechanism has led to global users of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads having their accounts mistakenly suspended since late on the 14th.

MODA explained that the incident originated from Meta's global youth online safety measures announced on May 7, 2024. While implementing age verification to proactively identify and remove users under 13, a technical flaw caused some accounts to be incorrectly suspended. MODA emphasized this is a global technical issue affecting Meta's platforms worldwide, not targeted at any specific region or user group.

Since the morning of the 15th, MODA has proactively requested Meta Taiwan to expedite reinstatement procedures for affected accounts. Multiple media accounts and public figures across political affiliations have already regained access to their accounts.

MODA advised Taiwanese users whose accounts were mistakenly suspended to appeal through the following official channels: (1) Facebook account suspension appeal; (2) Instagram account suspension appeal; (3) Threads account suspension appeal.

MODA stressed it continues to demand Meta swiftly address account reinstatements and conduct a thorough review of its age verification tools, proposing optimization measures to safeguard users' rights in Taiwan. (Edited by Lin Shu-yuan) 1150616

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