Locked account drama: Facebook ordered to pay Rs 41 lakh in lawsuit

Facebook, a well-known social media platform, got into trouble when it locked a user's account without a good reason.

Jason Crawford, a lawyer from the United States, sued Facebook because his account was allegedly terminated without proper justification.

Despite his efforts to reach out to Facebook for a resolution, the company ignored him, as per a report.

Account Termination

As per the report by FOX 5 Atlanta, Jason Crawford had previously received a violation notice from Facebook for his political comments on the platform.

However, in this specific case, his account was locked by Facebook without a satisfactory explanation.

Frustrated by the company's lack of response, Crawford took legal action to address the problem.

One of the main challenges Jason encountered was the difficulty of reaching a real person at Facebook for help.

Additionally, the process of appealing Facebook's decision proved to be complex, as he could only appeal using his own locked Facebook account.

In August 2022, Jason Crawford, a lawyer, lodged a complaint against Facebook, claiming that the company had ignored him and barred his access to his own Facebook account based on unfounded accusations of child sexual exploitation, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.

He strongly asserted that these allegations were completely false.

Crawford expressed his frustration, as he had valuable memories in the form of pictures, videos, and posts on his account that he did not want to lose due to the actions of individuals without any legitimate justification.

Surprisingly, even after filing the lawsuit, Facebook's legal team did not respond to the situation.

The court's intervention marked a significant turning point in the case.

The court directed Meta, Facebook's parent company, to compensate Jason Crawford with $50,000 (roughly 41 lakh in India) for the negligence and disregard shown by the company.

It was only after this ruling that Facebook finally contacted Crawford to address the issue.

While Crawford felt a sense of vindication when his account was restored, he emphasised that his decision to take legal action was not solely driven by monetary compensation.

He sought to hold Facebook accountable for its lack of transparency and failure to provide satisfactory answers to its users.