Ignorance is bliss & making them billions!

This week I had both my Surf Online Safe and Paul Litherland - InspireME Facebook pages suspended, unpublished and then deleted by Meta . I was sent an AI generated 'review' option, but this was nothing more than another generic response, as both reviews were ignored.

The suspension process on both pages commenced within six minutes after I made a post regarding the latest safety settings on Instagram , which included references to how I believed the settings won't guarantee teenagers would not still be exposed to harm on the network.

Both pages were deleted within 32 minutes of each post.

My Surf Online Safe Facebook page had been active for 10 years. It provided tens of thousands of Australian and international parents and children information and advice on cyber safety, as well as warnings about online harm and risk mitigation.

The closure of both pages removes a valuable support network to a great number of Australians and cuts a line of communication between me and those who are seeking help and assistance.

Since the removal of the pages, I have made contact with a number of Meta executives for assistance. I have not received a response from any of them. Like the vast majority of the victims of harm I deal with every day, I have been ignored.

Since posting about the closure of these accounts on my newly created Paul Litherland Facebook page, I have received 42 post comments and 38 direct messages from Tech Companies, individual users and even "Meta Staff", pushing me to fake websites with the promise of having the accounts recovered. Obviously all of these Facebook users are scam accounts. The irony of that is not lost on me!

Eighteen months ago, I had a fake Facebook account created in my name which was being used to lure and scam Australian teenagers. Over an eight week period, I reported the fake account to Facebook over 180 times. It was not removed.

Out of desperation, I had to contact the eSafety Commissioner in order to have the account removed. Finally, after the account being active for over six months, three of which it was subject to hundreds of reports, the page was closed!

Earlier this year, a teenager in Australia died after a long battle with cancer. His parents created a Facebook page in his memory and to thank Australians for the support of their son. Within only a few days, that account was mirrored by a scamming group and changed to request donations from followers for the boys funeral.

I managed to get that account closed, however the scammers created another, then another. Over a six week period, no less than seven similar accounts were closed. All the while, this boys family were dealing with the grief of their loss and the stress of organising a funeral.

Over that six weeks, I reported the seven pages 340 times via Facebook. In total, the scam pages were active for 684 hours. Out of the 340 reports I submitted to Facebook, I was advised 92 times, the Scam accounts "Do not go against our Community Guidelines".

During that six week period, I sent desperate messages of help to no less than sixteen Meta executives, via email and LinkedIn. I was (of course) ignored by every single one of them.

Ten days after the final scam page was closed, I made a post on my Surf Online Safe Facebook page. I explained the events surrounding these scam pages to my followers, to which I named the sixteen executives who ignored my request for help. I tagged each of the executives into the post and also included photo's of each of them.

My post was removed by Facebook in twelve minutes! Yep, twelve minutes!!!

In addition to the removal of my post, I was advised it was in violation of Facebook's Community Guidelines and I was offered a warning to cease such behaviour. It seems I have upset them one too many times!

Where to now?

I now face a dilemma. Do I create another Surf Online Safe Facebook page and end my campaign of challenging that cowardly organisation, so I can continue to educate, support and advise my followers? Or do I give up and remove this valuable asset to my audience?

This experience one again emphasises why I do what I do! Every day I am dealing with the failings of Meta. When will they get it right and when will they actually give a damn about those who are using their environments?

We see Meta executives right here on LinkedIn touting how dedicated they are to helping people and making Meta better. They blab on about world leading tools and industry leading technologies to act on the networks failings, yet time and time again this is not my experience.

I know this is just a couple of Facebook pages being closed, but to me, it is so much more than that. It is another two shovel loads of sand thrown onto the mountain I am trying to climb every day.

All the while, Big Tech sit atop that mountain, laughing and counting the billions of dollars they are making from the sufferings of others. Now and again they will kick rocks down the mountain to knock back suckers like me, those who are willing to challenge them. They sneakily peak down the side every now and then, like the six at Meta who candidly viewed my last post here on LinkedIn, to scared to show their faces.

I know I will find the courage to keep climbing, but who at Meta will ever have the guts to throw me a rope?