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Facebook disabled for a rule violation: what to do in New Zealand

What you see: "We disabled your account" with a Disagree button. Can you log in? No. The clock: 180 days to appeal.

First move

Send one appeal in the app. If Meta asks for a video selfie, do it from your usual phone.

Get your free plan and letters

Free, no sign-up. It fills in your dates and drafts a letter for each route.

The first hour

Do

  • Screenshot the ban screen, Meta's email and any reference number.
  • Write down the date and time. The 180-day clock starts there.
  • Submit exactly one appeal through one channel.
  • Do the ID or video-selfie check from your usual phone and network.
  • Check your inbox for Meta security emails and use "revert this change" or "secure my account" if they're there.
  • If you can still log in, request Download Your Information right away.
  • Tell your audience where to find you: email, other platforms, your website.

Don’t

  • Don't open a new account. After a violation ban it breaks Meta's terms, and it usually gets banned too.
  • Don't appeal through several forms at once. Duplicate appeals get pushed down the queue.
  • Don't use a VPN, a new device or someone else's network.
  • Don't file a policy ban as "hacked", or a hack as a policy ban.
  • Don't pay anyone who promises recovery or asks for your password or login codes.
  • Don't delete linked accounts or Pages in a panic.

Every route open to you in New Zealand

  1. 1. In-app appeal, prepared for you

    Cost: Free · Time: Hours to weeks · Deadline: 180 days from the ban

    • Your username and the email or phone number on the account
    • Screenshots of the ban notice
    • If asked, a video selfie taken on the phone you normally use

  2. 2. Privacy Act access request (IPP 6)

    Cost: Free · Time: 20 working days · Deadline: 28 days from the ban

    • Proof of identity if Meta asks for it
    • The date you send it (20 working days start then)

  3. 3. Privacy Commissioner complaint if ignored

    Cost: Free · Time: Months

    • A copy of your access request and the date you sent it
    • Any reply from Meta

  4. 4. Commerce Commission complaint

    Cost: Free · Time: No set timeline

    • Dates of the ban and every appeal
    • Records of what the account earns

  5. 5. Demand letter to Meta's legal team

    Cost: Free, plus postage · Time: Weeks

    • Your account's history: how long you've had it and what it earns
    • Records of losses since the ban: invoices, cancelled deals, platform payouts
    • Copies of every appeal you've sent, with dates

  6. 6. Disputes Tribunal claim

    Cost: Filing fee · Time: Weeks to months

    • Your demand letter and proof it was delivered
    • Records of every loss you're claiming

Deadlines

  • Privacy reply due (20 working days)day 28
  • Account can be deletedday 180

Before you do anything

  • Nobody can buy your account back

    Ignore anyone who messages you offering to recover the account, even if they say they work at Meta. Meta never charges to restore an account and never asks for your password or a login code.

  • In the first hours

    Take screenshots of the ban screen and any emails. Don't delete the app, don't log in from new phones, computers or a VPN, and don't change your recovery email or phone.

  • One appeal per route

    Send each appeal once. Repeating it can be treated as spam and doesn't make anyone look sooner. Keep a copy of everything you send, with the date.

  • Don't open a new account

    A new account to get around the ban can be disabled too, and it can count against your appeal. Wait for the outcome of this case.

Only Meta can restore an account, and we can't guarantee it will. Minarva is independent and not affiliated with Meta. This is general information and templates, not legal advice.