u/Leather-Explorer-730

Sharing my experience as someone based in the UK.
My main Instagram account was disabled in September 2025 for alleged violations related to guns, drugs, and restricted goods. I created a new account, but that one was also disabled earlier this month July 2026 for being associated with an account that had gone against the rules.
I was extremely frustrated, especially after putting time into rebuilding another account. I then sent demand letters to Meta’s offices in London, Ireland, and California. The Ireland office responded and directed me to Meta’s Privacy Operations team in California, so I sent another demand letter there.
After reading multiple Reddit posts suggesting that demand letters rarely get a response, I decided to escalate the matter and file a California small claims case on 15 July 2026. I initially served Meta by certified mail, but was advised this was not guaranteed, so I then used a registered process server to personally serve the documents on 28 July.
Today, without any communication from Meta, I received email notifications for both of my Instagram accounts (suggesting people to follow). I tried logging in and, to my surprise, both had been restored. I was prompted to complete authentication, after which I regained access.
I still don’t know what actually led to the reinstatement. It could have been the demand letters, the small claims case, or a combination of both. Since Meta never contacted me, it’s impossible to know for sure.
I plan to continue with the case until I receive a clear confirmation from Meta, as well as some assurance that this won’t happen again, given the costs I incurred from filing the claim and sending multiple demand letters.