[Translation] What happened when Facebook blocked my account
Note from the translator : I would like to translate this article for Russian-speaking users of social networks such as Facebook or Vkontakte so that everyone can make a conclusion, and if you don’t switch from virtual to the real world, then at least try to insure yourself from the situation described by the author .
Facebook A billion people use it every month. We load our lives and our memories on his pages. We use it to communicate with loved ones, friends and colleagues. Some of us even work with him, arrange events, advertise and manage communities and develop on his platform. It has become one of such services, without which it is impossible to live, which cannot be avoided. Some of us think that it’s possible that in fact we don’t live on Facebook and we can leave it and leave when we want, but these people are mistaken. This is not just a social addiction, it is turning into something much more.
Five days ago I was banned from Facebook, and I'm not sure why. I logged into my account as usual and saw the following message:
Account is blocked.
Your account has been suspended. If you have any questions or comments, you can visit our FAQ page here.
Further verification revealed that I had no more right to use Facebook and that “for security reasons” I could not know why.
After reviewing, we have determined that you are not allowed to use Facebook. Unfortunately, for security reasons, we cannot provide additional information about the reasons for disconnecting your account. The decision is final.
A letter to the Facebook team “My account is blocked”, which only repeated the points from the frequently asked questions page and said that their solution was final, also did not help much.
Being a smart and prone to complaints, I took up Twitter to pour out my frustrations and annoyed my contacts until I found someone in Facebook on the UK and wrote to him. Within an hour, I received an answer that my question was already under consideration, but there was no guarantee that I could find out why my account was blocked, or that I could restore it. The next day I received a response that, unfortunately, due to general personal connections, he could not help me with my situation because of the “user protection policy”.
I needed Facebook more than I thought
My first instinctive reaction to the loss of Facebook was very typical of our generation, “so what?”. I mean, who DOES Facebook really need, right? I somehow managed without him for the first 18 years of my life. Not a big loss, I'll just live as usual. I was just about to spend that evening with friends, that would be a great story for a bar, and I like to be in the spotlight. I would have drunk with grief and entertained my friends. Perhaps not using Facebook for a while even seemed cool.
It was just time to leave, when it suddenly dawned on me. Earlier that day, there was an update on the Facebook page for the event that I was going to attend, a change of location. Instinctively, I logged into Facebook and again saw the message “Your account is locked.” I did not know where I needed to go, and I also could not check Facebook to find out.
Without panic, I have a saved event on the calendar in my Windows Phone. I clicked "open calendar", looked for a message about the meeting, but it was not there. The calendar was synchronized with Facebook, and when my account was blocked, for security reasons, all my events were deleted from my calendar. Pancake.
No problem, I'll call Russell, he organized the event and could tell me where to go. I looked for Russell's phone number in the contacts and ... to no avail, he disappeared. James? It was recorded with an email address and a nickname on Twitter, but there was no phone number. Sean? Same. My phone’s contacts synced with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but actually didn’t save any data on the phone or on the Microsoft server. All my phone numbers were taken from Facebook, and without a Facebook account I had no Facebook friends or numbers. Heck.
Fortunately, my text messages were still intact, I was not completely lost. I found an old correspondence with Russell, called him and added his number as a new contact on the phone. I was saved that evening, and it turned out that this was not such a disaster as I was afraid, but I began to understand how much I was counting on one platform.
I am organizing and filming events. I manage pages and events on Facebook, but now I can’t do this anymore. Pages and events, thank God, are still there (unlike my personal account, photos and all the information related to it), however, I can no longer access them. My business partners still have access, but I don't. Annoying unforeseen circumstance, but I think we can deal with this, they will have to take on all my responsibilities on Facebook.
More than just a profile.
Netflix, Spotify, Foursquare and a host of other applications and services that I used Facebook to sign in to are now out of my reach. Some of these services have additional login options, and support services of some others have been able to help me with regaining access. Here, hope is not completely lost.
The loss of telephone contacts, scheduled appointments on the calendar, and entry to other services caused inconvenience, but these were moments that I could immediately fix and find other solutions, business.
The loss of the archive with my memories, messages, photos, groups, pages, events and everything that I really COUNTED on Facebook is enraging. There is no way to get this information from Facebook, if your account is blocked, all this "went to another world."
Based on company responses, Facebook’s decision is final. I can’t get back to the service in any way, I can’t get my information back, and I can’t find out why I can no longer have an account. The Facebook terms of service also prohibit me from ever re-creating a Facebook account. Not that it somehow solves my problem with lost data, but it would allow me to start using the service again for the things that I'm used to.
Facebook claims that they conducted a study of my account and that the decision to “ban” me was ultimately made for the good of the world. The fact that I live in the UK and the fact that Facebook works here means that I should be able to request details and supporting evidence of their research in accordance with the Data Protection Act, where Facebook acts as a data controller. I sent this request, but have not yet received a response from them. If I did something that violated their terms of service, which, as far as I know, I didn’t, then I was caught at the crime scene and I would just leave quietly. The problem is not the loss of this service as such, but the lack of explanation and the ability to recover your data.
The loss of my Facebook account is not the end of the physical world, but it brought the end of the virtual world closer. Consider this a modern version of the proverb that you don’t need to “keep all your eggs in one basket” [ 1 ] and expect that one service will always be available to you. Just think what will happen if you are suddenly disconnected from Facebook tomorrow. In addition to the breakdown from the sudden cessation of the use of this drug that you will experience, think about how it feels to lose 5 years of your life and the ability to communicate immediately with a large group of friends and acquaintances.
This story has no conclusion. I’m not sure that I would recommend to those who find themselves in the same situation, in fact you can do little. When Facebook decides to disconnect you and never let you in again, good luck with getting an answer, your data, or even access to the service.
I think the solution would never be to register on Facebook, but it becomes much more complicated. We organize parties with his help, stay in touch with friends in it, we spend time, work, live on Facebook. Just not me, now no more.