How NOT To Get Banned On Facebook!

Facebook is no doubt a place where several meets to share their feelings and more. You create your Facebook account and increase your presence bit by bit. And suddenly when Facebook bans your account, you are at loss not knowing what to do. Of course, you may ask the network authorities to review your account and reinstate it but it takes time. There is no guarantee either. The better method is to avoid such things. That is the subject of this article. We will talk about how not to get banned on Facebook.

Top reasons why you may get banned on Facebook

Though there may be many reasons why you can be banned on Facebook, the top ones are listed below:

1. Spam: Either Facebook algorithms or people report that you are spamming others’ timelines
2. Using Too Many Links: This also amounts to spam. If you have been posting too many links on peoples’ timeline, Facebook may ban you.
3. Impersonating Others: You cannot be someone else on Facebook. If someone reports you have been impersonating someone else, you will get into trouble.
4. Excess Activity: Again this amounts to spam. Too much commenting, liking and uploading posts can make Facebook believe you are a bot – leading to a ban.
5. Type Of Content You Post: This is the most tricky part. Though something may seem absolutely normal to you, others may see it as being offensive. If your content hurts someone’s feelings, faiths or beliefs, they may report your profile – leading to a ban. In some cases, Facebook may simply remove the content and let you use your account.

The general rule is to play safe. In other words, be decent and respect others’ feelings. Let us now look into the details on how not to get banned on Facebook.

What Does Facebook Say?

While researching on this subject, I came across the Facebook TOS (Terms and Conditions) page. Here are some of the points I noted to be of importance.

1. You should not use the intellectual property of other people without their written permission. Intellectual property refers to creative works of people. Facebook does not, however, talk of derivative works based on these intellectual properties. I do guess that its talk about intellectual properties includes derivative works. It further says that you should remove any content if it is reported as being the property of others. And if you are repeating the offense, Facebook may block access to your account when deemed suitable. In short, try and avoid posting works of other people and instead, provide links if you wish to share.
2. Commercial communication is banned on Facebook. You cannot use your Facebook profile page or fan-page for business deals. I guess using profile updates as ads and promotions amounts to spam per Facebook and hence the rule. The concept of fan-pages remains unclear here – as I believe they are created to enhance one’s business and/or service. Facebook needs to be clearer in this regard.
3. Facebook prohibits the use of bots to collect information and to post status updates. The second part again is ambiguous as people use methods to schedule status updates. Using software to collect others’ data is offensive and unethical. It will attract banning of the Facebook account through which, the bots are accessing Facebook.
4. Using Facebook for illegal marketing purposes is prohibited. One such example is multi-level marketing schemes. In other words, you should not use Facebook with the intention to con people. Anyone who is engaged in such activities will be banned.
5. Phishing attempts will also lead to banning of concerned account.
6. Usage of hate speech, pornography, threats etc. is not acceptable and may lead to a ban of the concerned Facebook account. Similarly, if users engage in harassing, bullying, and stalking, they will be in trouble as well.
7. In case you are running any promotions or contests on Facebook, you should not try to reflect that Facebook is part of that campaign. You need to tell your audience that it is you and not Facebook that is involved in the promotion. In short, you should not try to misuse Facebook’s goodwill to your benefit.
8. Using Facebook for illegal and anti-social activities will lead to banning of the concerned account.

How NOT To Get Banned On Facebook

While the above talks about some important points from the Facebook TOS, here are some more tips.

1. Do not send friend requests to people you do not know. If your friend requests are kept on being denied by people to whom you have been sending them, you may lose the ability to send friend requests in future.
2. Do not spam and keep your posts evenly distributed throughout the day. This avoids people from hitting the ‘Report Spam’ button on your posts.
3. Do not create hate posts or pages. People may report your profile if you do so.
4. Do not try to sell your status updates for money or any other kind of benefits. If Facebook has a reason to believe that you are promoting a brand or person, they may ban you.
5. Finally, do not send multiple messages to people on your friends’ list. This will also considered spam by Facebook algorithms – leading to a ban on the concerned account.

The above are some tips on how not to get banned on Facebook. If you have any more tips, please share them with us.