This week, Meta took legal action by filing a lawsuit in California against Daniel Folger, a photographer and entrepreneur. The suit alleges that Folger began selling Instagram usernames as early as 2022, with prices varying widely from $700 up to $50,000, and that he continued these activities until February 2025. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Folger conspired with a Meta contractor to improperly use the company’s internal appeal process, thereby bypassing Meta’s enforcement measures to restore a disabled account.
In a separate filing, Meta targeted another user, Idriss Qibaa, accusing him of marketing unauthorized services related to Instagram. Qibaa is alleged not only to have offered the reinstatement of banned accounts and the disabling of user accounts but also to have sold services designed to inflate follower counts through artificial means. The lawsuit references statements made by Qibaa on a podcast, where he described himself as a professional in the domain of managing account bans and reinstatements, and even discussed an extortion scheme linked to his actions.
These lawsuits signify a heightened effort by Meta to confront activities that directly violate Instagram's policies. The company expressed its commitment to pursuing all available legal avenues to safeguard the integrity of its platforms, emphasizing that these cases involve targeted abuses that harm users and breach the service agreements that govern the use of Instagram accounts.
8 Comments
BuggaBoom
“I’m not convinced that these lawsuits are about user safety—they look like a power play.”
KittyKat
“Using a contractor to bypass rules? It sounds like Meta is entangled in its own internal hypocrisy.”
Noir Black
“It’s important for companies to defend their terms of service, and these legal actions achieve that.”
BuggaBoom
“It’s disappointing to see a company that once promoted creativity now resorting to legal threats against innovators.”
Noir Black
“Criminalizing entrepreneurial activity with litigation is just another way for big companies to bully outsiders.”
Mariposa
“Meta’s repeated lawsuits make me wonder if they’re simply too afraid of any disruption to their control.”
ArtemK
“Finally, Meta is taking a stand against fraud and the abuse of its platform—good on them!”
Bella Ciao
“Meta’s proactive stance against exploiting loopholes should set a precedent for online platforms everywhere.”