There are days on set where everything conspires against you at the start, and then…Read More →
Meta suspended my Instagram account @latexperiment. No warning. No specific reason. No functioning appeal. An account I have built and maintained since 2009; gone overnight.
If you have been trying to find latexperiment on Instagram and found nothing, this is why.
On April 27, 2026, Meta deactivated the Instagram account @latexperiment. Without warning. Without stating a single specific reason. Without offering any functioning way to appeal. This account has been active since 2016. Ten years of photography, collaboration, and creative work, suspended by an algorithm in a matter of hours.
What happened
The suspension came without any prior notice. No cease-and-desist. No warning message. No content flagged. Just a deactivation.
After the account was suspended, Meta demanded a full identity verification: email code, selfie video, passport upload, and SMS code. I submitted everything; completely and correctly. My documents were rejected twice despite being in perfect condition and fully legible. Meta then proceeded to permanently deactivate the account.
Here is what makes this undeniable: the exact same passport and selfie video successfully reactivated a different account on the same day. The material was correct. The system simply chose not to accept it.
The confirmation email Meta sent contained no specific violation, no date, no content identified. Just this: “We have reviewed your account and have concluded that it does in fact violate our Community Standards.” A template, fired automatically, for an account that has operated within every rule for sixteen years.
No human reviewed this. No individual decision was made. This is an automated system operating without accountability and without any meaningful way to respond.
Why this is illegal
This is not just a frustrating experience with a platform. Under German and European law, what Meta has done is legally unjustifiable.
In 2021, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled that platforms must hear users before suspending accounts, provide a specific and concrete reason, and conduct a genuine review. None of that happened here.
The EU Digital Services Act, fully in force since February 2024, legally obliges Meta to provide clear and specific justification for every suspension and to operate a functioning internal appeals system. An automated template email with no specifics does not meet that standard.
German competition law prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position. Instagram is dominant. Using that dominance to remove a legitimate operator’s presence, without cause, without process, and without recourse, falls within that prohibition.
Meta also collected highly sensitive personal data during the verification process, my passport scan, my biometric selfie video, and processed that data without achieving the stated purpose of reactivating the account. That raises serious questions under the GDPR.
Where things stand
I am in contact with law firms specializing in platform law and am preparing legal action. I have also contacted a member of the German Bundestag who has consistently advocated for the enforcement of the Digital Services Act against platforms that operate above the law.
I have documented everything; the suspension notification, the verification submissions, the rejection, and the automated response that confirms no individual review took place.
