Golf apparel retailer falsely accused by Meta of child exploitation after posting photo of of her stepdaughter goes out of business
Charlotte and Lewis Garwood are now taking steps to join a global class action lawsuit against the tech giant.
The couple poured their IVF savings into starting up golf apparel brand, Mulligan Ink, after tying the knot in 2022.
The business was booming until Mrs Garwood posted a photo of her five-year-old stepdaughter wearing a PJ Masks costume on her personal account on June 28 last year.
Meta's technology flagged the post as child sexual exploitation material.
Within seconds, both Mrs Garwood's personal and business accounts were disabled.
'I was disgusted. I was sick. I felt sick. I started crying. I was like, What have I done? Like, has someone hacked into my phone? Like, what is it? And then I just put two and two together,' Mrs Garwood said.
'We were in the middle of getting a couple more pro shops on board...it hit me harder, probably than Charlotte,' Mr Garwood added.
The business's digital footprint vanished, and sales declined overnight.
Mrs Garwood appealed the decision, but it was rejected and after multiple unanswered emails to the tech giant, the business folded.
'Instagram was our number one for sales. So, when our ads were off, our carousel ads, our reels, everything was turned off. …everything just stopped,' Mrs Garwood said.
'When it goes out the window, you sort of feel really depressed…like a bit of a loser to be honest,' Mr Garwood said.
The pair are now preparing to join a class action lawsuit against Meta, led by a US law firm.
'I've just collected so much evidence about what they did, what meta have done, and I have just got to just be part of that. I can't let it go. I think about it every single day…It's terrible for your mental health,' Mrs Garwood said.
'I'm being bullied, and I don't want the bullies to win.'
Attorney and Managing Shareholder at Amicus Law PC Wesley Cornwell is leading the lawsuit, which is seeking damages and answers from Meta.
'Lost business opportunity, interference with business contracts, and also another way that we're looking at compensation are individual users who have lost everything,' Mr Cornwell said.
'We're looking for Meta to make actual changes to therapeutics process, make the team that's making these decisions a little more accessible to users.'
Amicus Law PC is also looking into pursuing a breach of contract claim against Meta.
'When you sign up for Meta, they are agreeing to provide you with a platform, so long as you follow their terms of service,' Mr Cornwell said.
'You follow their terms of service, and then they just suspend you, or there's no appeal, or there's no way to reinstate it.'
More than 5,800 people globally have signed onto the lawsuit and more are joining each week.
The law firm is encouraging anyone impacted by Meta bans to submit an inquiry.
Meta has not responded to Sky News' questions about wrongful bans of accounts.
Instead, a spokesperson said: 'We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake.'
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