[Chapter-delegates] Suspension of Chapter Facebook pages for "impersonation"

Wed Apr 23 05:35:41 PDT 2025

In my experience working with small businesses that have lost access to
their Facebook or Instagram pages due to identity theft (usually as a
result of stolen phones or malware installation), they have never received
any help from META.

However, I am glad to know that there are special support channels for
organizations that have collaborative projects with ISOC and the LCI.
Still, I believe that the number of complaints about these issues should
prompt us to look for alternative channels for streaming and dissemination.

Regards,
Alejandro Lengua

El mié, 23 abr 2025 a las 7:23, Joly MacFie via Chapter-delegates (<
chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>) escribió:

> Hi Ricky,
>
> Thanks for the feedback. Useful context.
>
> So, basically, left hanging by FB? Since last year? Despite intervention
> from parent org?
>
> Were there any prophylactic measures advised by LCI?
>
> Joly
>
> On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 7:54 AM Ricky Mahabir <rickypm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Greetings from Suriname.
>> Just wanted to point out that this issue is not specific to ISOC FB
>> pages, we have experienced the same since last year with Lions Clubs FB
>> pages as well. Meta was also engaged by the main organization LCI.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Ricky P. Mahabir
>> Commissaris Vereniging De Dolfijn (Bar, Keuken en Recreatie)
>> Lions Club Parwani | (LC Member #5276037, *MJF*)
>> JCI Senator # 81045
>> 2024-2025 Secretary ISOC Suriname Chapter (www.isoc.org)
>> Secretaris Buurtvereniging Gunny's Villapark
>> Voorzitter Key Jaycees / Past President | JCI Suriname
>> / JCI Nilom
>>
>> Mobile: +597-7697377 / +597-8727832 | e-mail: rickypm at gmail.com | Skype:
>> rmahabir
>>
>> "Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM Joly MacFie via Chapter-delegates <
>> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks for the quick response, Joe.
>>>
>>> On our end it is difficult to divine what action, if any, is being taken
>>> by staff, so any update, even "nothing to report", is valuable.
>>>
>>> Perhaps,  staff could examine the mitigation steps proposed by both me
>>> and ChatGPT, and comment or modify? Or institute some kind of verification
>>> program?
>>>
>>> Joly
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 7:30 AM Dr. Joseph Lorenzo Hall <hall at isoc.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Joly, I have been working for two weeks with Meta staff to try and get
>>>> these pages restored. I asked Victor and you to provide the data that the
>>>> review team needs and we've provided that to them. Typically, there are
>>>> very few recourses after an appeal has been denied as with the Mali and
>>>> Zimbabwe pages (please give me the details for the new page suspension
>>>> off-list and I'll get that to the Meta review team).
>>>>
>>>> To be clear, we'll need to keep our expectations low; in my experience
>>>> pages are rarely resorted after appeal. I'm hopeful, especially given our
>>>> collaboration with Meta.
>>>>
>>>> We're working hard on this and so far there is nothing new to report
>>>> back as it's in their queue (I assume). Can you please give us the benefit
>>>> of the doubt that we are trying here? Thank you
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Joseph Lorenzo Hall PhD, Distinguished Technologist, Internet Society
>>>> hall at isoc.org | +1-703-483-9504
>>>> internetsociety.org | @internetsociety
>>>> pgp: 3CA28D7B9F6DDBD34B1016075F86698740A9A871
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>> *From:* Chapter-delegates <chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org>
>>>> on behalf of Joly MacFie via Chapter-delegates <
>>>> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
>>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 23, 2025 7:01:09 AM
>>>> *To:* ISOC Chapter Delegates <chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>
>>>> *Subject:* [Chapter-delegates] Suspension of Chapter Facebook pages
>>>> for "impersonation"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For ISOC.LIVE video crossposting purposes, I have, over the years,
>>>> gained some admin role or other on 50+ Chapter Facebook pages. Recently a
>>>> worrying trend has arisen of pages getting suspended by FB for
>>>> "impersonation". Requested reviews have been summarily denied.
>>>>
>>>> Apart from making these pages unavailable, this has resulted in me and
>>>> other page admins having our accounts restricted, such that we can't post
>>>> or manage groups. ( I manage several non-ISOC technical groups, a couple
>>>> with 1000s of members)
>>>>
>>>> Suspensions include
>>>>
>>>> *Internet Society Zimbabwe – ISOC Zim*
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/isoczim/
>>>> Suspended: December 17, 2024
>>>> Review Decision: Not restored (January 3, 2025)
>>>> Reason: Impersonation
>>>>
>>>> *ISOC Mali – Le Chapitre malien d’Internet Society*
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/isocml/
>>>> Suspended: March 26, 2025
>>>> Review Decision: Not restored (March 31, 2025)
>>>> Reason: Impersonation
>>>>
>>>> After these two, and since there had just been trumpeted the extension
>>>> ISOC and Meta's partnership in Africa
>>>> <https://www.internetsociety.org/news/press-releases/2025/internet-society-extends-multi-year-partnership-with-meta-and-announces-connectivity-co-funding-initiative/>,
>>>> I reached out to Victor Ndonnang and also Chapter Support to see if strings
>>>> could be pulled.
>>>>
>>>> Victor, as always, was responsive, and concerned about the damage these
>>>> suspensions could do to two of the region's most active chapters.
>>>>
>>>> However Vcitor's efforts appeared to be in vain. I remembered that Katie
>>>> Watson Jordan <https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-watson/>, formerly a
>>>> mainstay of the North America Bureau, now worked out at Meta. I reached out
>>>> to her and she asked for details to pass along to the "review team'".That
>>>> was around a week ago.
>>>>
>>>> Chapter Support did not respond at all. No surprise there.
>>>>
>>>> Today, April 23 2025, comes another suspension, not of  just a chapter,
>>>> but the Asia Pacific Bureau Page, taking out a whole region! I immediately
>>>> appealed this, with the result that, within minutes, the page was totally
>>>> removed.
>>>>
>>>> [image: image.png]
>>>>
>>>> I have passed that to Katie, too.
>>>>
>>>> So, what's going on here? It's not like these pages were full of spam
>>>> or anything...
>>>>
>>>> One possible explanation is that this is an undesirable side effect of
>>>> some other totally legitimate takedown. There are a number of orphaned, and
>>>> conceivably even bogus ISOC pages out there, and which were reported as
>>>> such, and the baby is now being thrown out with the bathwater.
>>>>
>>>> Or, it just could be increased brand vigilance byISOC staff, with the
>>>> same result.
>>>>
>>>> It can't be 100% ignored that staff have systematically carried out a
>>>> program to disengage from ISOC.LIVE, and me personally since removing my
>>>> funding a year back, and this could be part of that.
>>>>
>>>> But, most likely, it's probably just Meta's stupid AI.
>>>>
>>>> Nevertheless, it is a fact of life.
>>>>
>>>> *===========WHAT TO DO?=========*
>>>>
>>>> There are a couple of things Chapter leaders can do.
>>>>
>>>> 1) Review the admin roles on the Chapter's FB page, and remove anybody
>>>> who is not necessary. That includes me(  I am restricted from streaming
>>>> anyway at present.) People can always be re-added as 'task manager'.
>>>>
>>>> 2) Read these detailed instructions from ChatGPT
>>>> <https://chatgpt.com/share/6808c434-0970-8013-a95d-2ce70fae59d7> on
>>>> how to safeguard your page.
>>>>
>>>> These instructions include NOT using the plain ISOC Symbol as an
>>>> avatar, but in turn how to make an alternative that conforms to ISOC's
>>>> brand guidelines is not obvious.
>>>>
>>>> What ChatGPT does suggest is that ISOC itself recognizes chapter pages
>>>> by linking to them from the main ISOC page.
>>>>
>>>> Joly
>>>> --
>>>> --------------------------------------
>>>> Joly MacFie  +12185659365
>>>> --------------------------------------
>>>> -
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> --------------------------------------
>>> Joly MacFie  +12185659365
>>> --------------------------------------
>>> -
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>
> --
> --------------------------------------
> Joly MacFie  +12185659365
> --------------------------------------
> -
> _______________________________________________
> As a Chapter Leader, you are automatically added to the Internet Society’s
> Chapter Leaders Community Group and the Chapter Delegates e-list, which is
> regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
> https://community.internetsociety.org.
> The Internet Society has a legitimate interest to communicate with its
> chapter leaders, you will therefore remain subscribed for the duration of
> your term and will be unsubscribed automatically when your term ends.
> Please note that the archive of this list is publicly accessible and may
> be viewed by anyone. By submitting information to this list and
> contributing to the communications, you acknowledge that the contents will
> be publicly visible.
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:
> https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>
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