Meta Age Verification Glitch Sparks Global Account Suspensions; Taiwan Demands Improvements

Meta's social media platforms, including Threads, Facebook, and Instagram, have been plagued by a widespread, unannounced account suspension issue affecting users globally. The problem, which began late on June 14, has led to numerous prominent figures in Taiwan, such as influencers and political commentators, reporting their accounts as suspended or inaccessible.

“

This is a global technical issue, not targeting specific regions or groups.

Taiwan's Digital Development Ministry stated on June 16 that the incident is a result of a global technical glitch within Meta's age verification mechanism. This system was intended to identify and remove users under 13 as part of Meta's online safety initiatives for adolescents, announced on May 7. However, the mechanism malfunctioned, leading to the erroneous suspension of many accounts.

“

The incident originated from Meta's global online safety measures for adolescents announced on May 7.

The ministry has actively engaged with Meta Taiwan since the morning of June 15, demanding swift action to reinstate suspended accounts. Several accounts belonging to media outlets and public figures from various political parties have already been restored. The ministry continues to press Meta for a rapid resolution and has called for a review and optimization of the age verification tools to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese users.

“

We have actively requested Meta Taiwan to expedite the restoration of suspended accounts.