'My Instagram got disabled and I don't know why'

Emily Sutcliffe said she could not understand why her Instagram account had been disabled

A mum influencer who had 14,500 followers on Instagram has been left "gutted" after the social media platform disabled her account without telling her why.

Emily Sutcliffe from Lancashire shared updates about life with her two children, as well as getting paid for reviews of pushchairs, clothes and family days out.

After "years of hard work", her account disappeared in just a few seconds, the 35-year-old said.

She was later told she had violated a policy, but was not told when and how. Meta has been contacted for comment.

Emily shared footage of days out on social media

Emily is one of an estimated 50 million people globally making money or being gifted free products and services through social media channels.

The amount spent by brands on social media users who promoted their products last year reached £27bn ($35bn) – a five-fold increase over five years - according to statistics provider Statista.

A new trade group that represents influencers, Influencer Marketing Trade Body (IMTB), is warning too many social media accounts are being disabled without a "coherent" reason being provided.

"These are careerists, they're not just the hobbyists," Scott Guthrie from IMTB said.

"They rely on the content and the sponsored content and the advertising from platforms as their source of income."

Emily had reached 14,500 followers on her Instagram before it was disabled

Safiyah Bennington, from influencer marketing agency Connect Management, said many people who had just started out wanting to document their lives had been able to "create a life that is sustained by the platform".

Mr Guthrie told the BBC content creators deserved "a fast right of reply from platforms" as well as written procedures with clear timelines.

Emily makes much of her content at home in Bacup and began her account when she was pregnant with her now three-year-old son.

Emily shared every stage of her pregnancies with her followers

She said she had a deal with a pushchair and car seat company and had been offered gifted and paid promotions for hotels and theme parks.

Emily was considering whether she could use her account to help her go part-time after maternity leave or even turn this into a future career.

But those brands can no longer see any of the content which they have paid for on her disabled Instagram account, although her TikTok and YouTube channels are still active.

The message sent to her by Instagram said the account, or activity on it, did not "follow our community guidelines on integrity or authentic identity".

Emily said she did not understand the Instagram response to her account being disabled

Emily spent three weeks trying to appeal the decision, but said it "just felt like you weren't getting anywhere".

In reports to the European Commission Meta, which owns Instagram, said it removed “millions of violating pieces of content and accounts" every day, while TikTok said it "banned more than five million accounts" for rule-breaking in the first six months of this year.

Posts that are the result of commercial arrangements with brands also have to follow advertising regulations.

Brands work with influencers to review and promote their products

Emily said: "If I was told it’s this image, or this post that’s broken the rule then at least I could look at that and think I know where we’re at.

"I think it’s really unfair because there are creators who are working really, really hard and I know of bigger accounts that have got 150,000 followers and they’ve had theirs disabled."

She has since been targeted by people who she suspects are scammers on both Instagram and YouTube, offering to get her old account back in exchange for money.