Meta suspends Bristol artist's Instagram due to 'error'

Jenny Urquhart says most her income comes from Christmas

Business owners say they are "stressed" after Meta closed their accounts over community guideline breaches.

One Bristol-based artist said her Instagram was suspended for allegedly showing "children in a sexual way".

After being approached by the BBC, parent company Meta said the account was deactivated 'in error' and has now been reinstated.

Another local businesswoman was told their account had been suspended without notice or explanation.

Jenny Urquhart, a Bristol artist, painted one of the unicorns for the summer's trail in the city.

On 4 December she said she opened her Instagram account to see a message stating it had been disabled and removed, alongside her personal Facebook page.

The last post Ms Urquhart published on Instagram was a painting of snails scaling mushrooms

She said most of her income "comes from Christmas and social media" because of people ordering gifts and cards.

She said: "It's like arriving into work after 12 years and being told you're sacked for no reason.

"The consequences are huge for me."

Ms Urquhart told the BBC she tried to approach Meta but that there was "no one to contact".

She added: "I'm very stressed. I've got to support family as well.

"Most of my income comes from Christmas gifts, I need to get on it now."

Meta has now the reinstated the account and apologised for any confusion

Ms Urquhart said she was able to reactivate her account on 12 December after the BBC approached Meta on 9 December.

Reacting to the suspension being lifted, she told the BBC: "This year, like many artists, I've seen a big drop in income with the cost of living crisis, art is understandably not a spending priority at the moment, so we have been really relying on Christmas sales.

"Working on my own at home can be isolating, but social media keeps me connected. I love Instagram and Facebook for that reason alone. When it suddenly vanishes the stress and anxiety is awful," she added.

"My kids have never seen me cry before, but found me sobbing at the kitchen table when it happened. I'm just so happy and relieved. This has totally made my Christmas."

Meta said it apologises for any confusion.

'A real blow'

Meta had also told Zofie Lloyd-Kucia, a Bristol-based mindset manifestation coach, that she breached authenticity guidelines but she "didn't know what for and the message didn't say".

Ms Lloyd-Kucia said: "It was absolutely a real blow because the account was partly to grow my business but also to connect with my followers and send them nice, motivational messages."

She created a new account after being suspended but weeks later she saw her face on her 'for you' page and she was then able to reactivate the old account.

"For me it felt that it was grossly unfair for all the time and effort I put into the account only for it to be taken away at any moment," she said.

"I can't quantify how detrimental it happening was to my business, but it was definitely a massive blow to my capacity to sell everything I have to offer to people."

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