The founder of Peter Sommer Travels has described being “completely distraught” after the business’ Instagram account was shut down without a proper opportunity to appeal.
Peter Sommer has criticised the platform and parent company Meta for the decision to close the tour operator’s account on December 3 in a process reportedly based on artificial intelligence (AI).
Outlining the impact of losing access to the page, Sommer said: “I think it has probably done some damage to our reputation we’ve built up over 22 years of business and it’s damaged the way we connect with our guests, while impacting one of our sales channels. Never mind the frustration and anxiety it’s caused me and my team.”
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Sommer received an email from Instagram on December 3 stating that the Peter Sommer Travels page had been suspended because it did not comply with the platform’s “community standards”.
Although he took up the invitation to appeal, he said he was not given an opportunity to submit any information and quickly received another message stating the account had been disabled following a further review.
“It’s an extraordinary process – it’s a joke. It gave the pretence you could appeal without being able to do or say anything,” he said, adding: “I was completely distraught [about the decision]. It could make someone incredibly ill if they have a business that relies on Instagram – they could be facing devastation with no recourse.”
There was an option to download the page’s history, Sommer said, but when he followed the steps, they led back to a message stating the account had been disabled.
The page had about 2,000 followers and was used to engage with travellers while promoting the company’s cultural tours, gulet cruises and private trips in Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey and the UK.
“It’s about communicating with our guests with the hope it’s going to drive bookings,” Sommer said.
“We know that Facebook is one of our main booking sources. We certainly get some bookings through Instagram, but it’s mainly about engagement.
“Our Instagram account has been going for a much shorter period, but we had been trying to build it up and develop it further with the hope and aim it would become more of a sales channel.”
Sommer said he had managed to speak on the phone to a member of Instagram’s security team, who confirmed there was no evidence the account had been hacked and it was “clean”.
He was also informed the decision to shut down the page was based on AI.
“[The Instagram employee] said it was an AI scan and he would set up a human review. He said our account would be reactivated within 24 hours.”
After more than a week, the account has yet to be restored and Sommer is still trying to get further information.
“I’ve been emailing three of the head people at Instagram and have had no replies. It’s been like banging my head against the wall,” he said.
Calling for an overhaul of Instagram’s procedures, he argued: “It’s extraordinary that these billion-dollar companies are relying so much on AI and there is no customer service and no way for lesser mortals to reach humans and find out what has happened.”
He added: “If you legitimately think your account has been [unfairly] shut down, there needs to be a proper appeal system that is not run by AI and Instagram needs to sort out its system for downloading an account’s history.”
Christina Brazier, head of industry affairs at Aito, said: “It is extremely frustrating that our members continue to face issues with social media accounts, which are vital tools for their business to connect with customers and drive bookings.
“While we understand that AI can be used to enhance efficiencies, the reliance on it for account management and suspension decisions is clearly a significant issue.
“We reiterate our call to Meta and other tech companies to prioritise quick and accessible customer support to minimise disruption for small businesses and we would welcome an urgent discussion with them to address these ongoing concerns.”
Travel Weekly contacted Meta for comment.