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Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

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Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#291

Post by reuven »

Zetobal wrote: post #277
reuven wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn't advertised in several years. I noticed the ban, and then didn't do anything about it for one year.

So you are saying it wasn't really necessary for years to advertise. You decided after receiving an injust ban to not appeal for over a year besides your knowledge about other horror stories. Now your life depends on being able to advertise on Facebook and the way to go forward was writing a bad sob story gladly obfuscating your own failings in it. Looks like a lot of blaming and no self reflection.

Actually, I saw that I was banned, and thought, "OK, I'll deal with this another time." I hadn't heard horror stories. I didn't know that there was any such thing as a lifetime ban. It never occurred to me that if I didn't act soon, it would make a difference.

I don't think that it's a sob story at all. I think that it's (a) incredibly funny that they would make such a mistake, (b) a combination of bad UI and bad service on Meta's part, and (c) crazy that even three Meta employees cannot undo such a ban.

So yes: It was my fault that I didn't notice or care faster. And sure, you can call this a sob story. But I think that beyond my personal experience and issues here, this points to some deeper problems with Meta, as well as other large companies that depend on AI.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#292

Post by logicalmonster »

reuven wrote: post #66
elorant wrote: post #5

Just create a new account and advertise with that. Or even a fake account. I know a lot of people who have dozens of fake accounts even for legitimate products and ads. Facebook is notorious for not providing any kind of support for its ad platform. Not to mention that they don't seem to do anything to stop fraudulent traffic.

One of the Meta employees suggested that I create a new business account. Except that I can't do that, because my personal account has been banned for life, as has any business account created through it. So I could create a new account that's just for my business. And maybe I will. But ... what a pain, and I'm not sure the ROI is really that good.

The galling thing to me is that these "lifetime bans" do nothing to stop scammers because they can easily create dozens of new companies and identities to continue ripping people off with. For them, it's just a cost of doing business. Either through legal or illegal means, scammers find a way to create lots of different companies and manage to get back on these platforms after their first efforts are "banned for life".

The only people who are actually banned for life are normal well-intentioned people who get their fledgling small business destroyed and don't think they have any recourse.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#293

Post by weinzierl »

kmlx wrote: post #271
weinzierl wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Franz (not Apache) Kafka's The Trial also fits the situation: "[..] the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka

every time someone mentions Kafka here i get reminded of his works and every time the comment is about Apache Kafka :)

In the 90s I had heard about this software you needed to publish web pages called 'Apache' so I googled it on Altavista expecting it to be hard to find amongst all the content about the Native American tribes. To my big surprise it was the web server that was at the very top of the search results.

Today I searched[1] for 'Kafka' on Google before I made the comment above and I got 'Apache Kafka' first and I'm still surprised. I never learn;-)

[1] I was tempted to write 'altavistad', but it's such a clunky word, no wonder Altavista lost.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#294

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

klik99 wrote: post #287
distances wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An acquaintance of mine (in Europe) had a default bank transfer message "al-qaeda terrorist fund" for years and years. That did finally raise some flags, but a visit to a bank office was enough to get the account unblocked. Being a bit stubborn, he still kept the message and just applied rot13 to it.

What's funny about this is that multiple people at this bank think that a terrorist group would just freely advertise itself this way. Like some local cell leader names his accounts "Groceries", "Home Repair", "Bombing Supplies"

I chuckled. And I know you have a point. I just immediately translated the story to US and this person would have a hard time keeping that account ( or any if he continued ).

Still, actual terror group would do it the same way intelligence agencies call their division 'room 10' as a code for something else. As a species, we certainly are a little weird.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#295

Post by jorvi »

bmicraft wrote: post #190
jorvi wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I’m not so sure it would help, as these bots would be trained on previous customer service interaction. I’ve been trying to get an Instagram account deleted for the better part of a year, and even with quintuple (!) ID verification and threatening to bring an GDPR case to bear, all I get is what amounts to “computer says no”, in such a talking-in-circles kind of way I am not sure I am talking to a human.

Just an idea, but try looking for a gdpr specific email/contact form. Usually companies have a specific one for that purpose because they actually have to comply with them. In case that leads nowhere, you should raise a complaint with you local data protection agency, for example https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

I already did that, otherwise Instagram provides no support.

I’ve been trying to escalate it to a manager, because I feel once the Irish data authority gets involved it will be handed off to legal.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#296

Post by 0xpgm »

nxobject wrote: post #121
0xpgm wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And some of these companies pride themselves as AI technology pioneers. Yet it seems their automated systems in this case are simply doing keyword matching. Mind-boggling!

To be fair, it's also a failure of empathy for a user who might be flagged as a false positive.

True. Sometimes we pursue technology to its own ends forgetting that technology is supposed to help humans.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#297

Post by bombcar »

weinzierl wrote: post #293
kmlx wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

every time someone mentions Kafka here i get reminded of his works and every time the comment is about Apache Kafka :)

In the 90s I had heard about this software you needed to publish web pages called 'Apache' so I googled it on Altavista expecting it to be hard to find amongst all the content about the Native American tribes. To my big surprise it was the web server that was at the very top of the search results. Today I searched[1] for 'Kafka' on Google before I made the comment above and I got 'Apache Kafka' first and I'm still su…

> googled it on Altavista

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe I can bing it in Hotbot.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#298

Post by teddyh »

rurban wrote: post #208
omnibrain wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a book on that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trial

Kafka is about human bureaucracy. This case is about AI bureaucracy.

Someone needs to re-write “The Trial” for this millennium. The new title can be “The Algorithm”.

(Re-post of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27378230>)

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#299

Post by bombcar »

jorvi wrote: post #295
bmicraft wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just an idea, but try looking for a gdpr specific email/contact form. Usually companies have a specific one for that purpose because they actually have to comply with them. In case that leads nowhere, you should raise a complaint with you local data protection agency, for example https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

I already did that, otherwise Instagram provides no support. I’ve been trying to escalate it to a manager, because I feel once the Irish data authority gets involved it will be handed off to legal.

Is it your account you want deleted or someone impersonating you?

Because killing your own account can be easily done by posting objectionable content.

Re: Meta is banning people from advertising after running ads for Python and Pandas

#300

Post by nathanfig »

rightbyte wrote: post #40
deredede wrote: post #19

> Meta won’t be seeing any of my money, whereas companies like Google, who seem to employ at least some humans in their advertising department — will That is a convoluted way to say you'll do business with companies that accept your business. Google is known for fully automated bans on your full account, not just the advertising part.

Eventually banning everyone is a good way to condensate spammers and scammers who will just set up a new company from time to time anyways. I haven't thought about this before, but it could explain some of the degeneration of ads over time I have been noticing.

Interesting point. Automated bans with no recourse will mostly deter legitimate businesses. And there is a finite supply of legitimate businesses, but infinite fake ones.
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