Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Oct 19: Meta Platforms Inc. has apologised after its automated security system mistakenly suspended the Instagram account of the No Kings Coalition during nationwide anti-Trump demonstrations.
The suspension occurred as the coalition was campaigning to expand early voting access ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Meta said its engineering team determined that unusually high-volume activity involving a tool from Anthropic PBC's Claude triggered the security system.
Andy Stone, Meta's vice president of communications, said Sunday that the tool was accessing profiles, posts and hashtags at approximately four times the normal rate in intense bursts on Saturday.
“These abrupt, high-volume, sequential requests in a short period resembled automated bot traffic rather than an ordinary human browsing our systems,” Stone said in a social media post.
Meta said an automated review conducted about an hour after the suspension determined that the account should not have been removed. The account was subsequently restored, although administrative access took longer to return.
“We want to reiterate our sincere apology for the error,” Stone said.
The No Kings Coalition said its Instagram page was unavailable for about 90 minutes on Saturday. Organisers added that they remained locked out even after the account became publicly visible again. Full access was restored at 5.33 pm New York time, according to the coalition.
The group criticised Meta for restricting its account during the demonstrations, describing Instagram as a crucial platform for communicating with supporters and coordinating activities.
According to the coalition, millions of people participated in nearly 3,000 events across all 50 states and Washington, DC, as part of efforts to expand early voting access and defend election integrity.
Stone's Sunday statement did not identify the specific Claude tool involved, disclose who was operating it or explain what activity it was carrying out in connection with the account. The coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meta's latest explanation clarified its initial account of the incident. On Saturday, Stone had said that unusually high rates of posting, sharing or commenting triggered the company's automated systems, resulting in the suspension. He acknowledged that the action was an error.
The No Kings Coalition, which has organised several demonstrations against President Donald Trump since his inauguration, plans to hold a national organising call on Wednesday to focus on voter turnout ahead of Election Day.