“Your account has been suspended. We have disabled your account. Your account is linked to an account that violated our rules,” said Richard Keldoulis, co-owner of several queer clubs such as Club Church, on what Instagram told him. Keldoulis has had several accounts suddenly deleted, without any real explanation.
“Unfortunately, you are very dependent on Instagram and Facebook,” says Keldoulis. “We are well known in the city and in the Netherlands, but these types of platforms are very important for us to attract tourists. Now we are invisible.”
Second time in a short time
It’s not the first time that Removed meta queer accounts. The company also did this in October, but the accounts were returned after an objection. Only now the accounts seem to have disappeared permanently. “We are never allowed to create an account for Club Church again. We are permanently gone.”
Keldoulis does not believe that the content on his accounts is really so offensive that Meta is within its right to block the accounts. “We are very careful, because we know that a lot is not allowed. It cannot be that we have done something that is against the rules.”
Comment Meta
Meta informed AT5 in a response that they strive to provide an ‘inclusive environment where everyone can express themselves safely’ and that something may have gone wrong with the removal. “While we always strive to enforce this as accurately and consistently as possible, no system is perfect and we sometimes make mistakes. That’s why we offer the opportunity to appeal and encourage anyone who believes their account has been wrongly disabled to do so.”
