‘Helpless': Aussie teen cannoli chef battling Meta over Instagram ban
Zufi Abdul, 18, said he feels 'helpless' after his 'Cannoli Boss' page, which reportedly boasted over 140,000 followers, was closed by the social media giant on July 11.
The Year 12 student, who is currently studying for his HSC trials next month, was told a video he shared to the platform had breached community guidelines relating to child abuse and nudity – a claim he denies.
In the 16-second video, which was also shared to TikTok, the teenager can be seen jumping around with his head in his hands, while the caption reads: 'My mum yelling 'Zufi! Go Do York Work'.
It then cuts to clips of Mr Abdul buying ingredients, showing off his various cannoli creations and talking to customers at a store.
'Okay … I'll do my work … Cannoli hustling, not schoolwork,' he captioned the video.
TikTok has seemingly taken no issue with the video, which has not been removed from the social media platform since it was posted on July 8.
But Mr Abdul, who fell in love with cooking during lockdown, has been left confused as to why it was unexpectedly removed from Instagram.
'There was no warning, I was straight-up banned,' he told 7News.
'I knew I definitely didn't do anything wrong,' he added. 'I feel like my reputation is absolutely shattered.'
When he appealed the decision, he claims he was 'told by them to seek legal counsel if I wasn't happy with their decision and wanted to take it further'.
The 18-year-old had also visited Meta's Australian headquarters in Sydney to try and solve the issue, 7News reports.
Mr Abdul said he is working to track down customers to reimburse them for orders he can no longer fulfil.
'I feel helpless,' he added. 'I rely on Instagram.'
He is hoping Meta will reinstate his account and issue an apology.
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