Latest news with #PaulSpain
1News
4 days ago
- Business
- 1News
'Quite stressful' Kiwis stung by wrongful Facebook and Instagram bans
Some Facebook and Instagram users in New Zealand have reported their accounts being banned arbitrarily, and a tech expert says the uptick in wrongful suspensions is "worrying". Auckland-based hairdresser Jessy O'Dwyer relied on social media platform Instagram to promote her small hairdressing business and contact clients. Auckland-based hairdresser Jessy O'Dwyer. (Source: 1News) Nearly three weeks ago, O'Dwyer said she recieved an email that her account had been suspended because she wasn't following community standards on "child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity". She immediately lost access to her account. ADVERTISEMENT "My business page is just hair", she told 1News. "I've had no new clients for two-and-a-half weeks, no access to contacting clients, so it's been quite stressful." Overseas, others have complained of similar bans or suspensions they believe were unjustified. In June, Meta — which owns Instagram and Facebook — acknowledged there was a technical error causing the wrongful suspension of some Facebook groups. "It feels like there's been some sort of uptick," technology commentator Paul Spain said. "It's really worrying because social media accounts become effectively a lifeline for some people's businesses, for individuals." Technology commentator Paul Spain. (Source: 1News) Several people have contacted 1News after being shut out of their personal Meta accounts in recent weeks, including Jacqui Knight from Auckland. ADVERTISEMENT She was informed she'd breached community standards on cyber security, and had no idea why. "I'm anti-violence, I'm not into porn or anything like that, can you imagine it?" she said. In a statement, Meta said it uses "a combination of people and technology to find and remove accounts that break our rules." "We haven't seen evidence of a significant increase in incorrect enforcement", a spokesperson said. "We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake.' Knight said she tried, but received a response telling her she can't request another review. "All my photographs since 2008 that I've shared with people all over the world have gone". ADVERTISEMENT Jacqui Knight from Auckland. (Source: 1News) Spain said there "is no 0800 number users can call for help". "They are automating everything from start to finish, and of course algorithms and AI systems, they have problems, right?" Meta said Knight's profile was still being reviewed, but a day after 1News inquired about O'Dwyer's account, it was back online. "I just got an email saying 'you're back up on Instagram' and that was it", she said. "They need a better customer support system, I feel like I'm going to try and rely on more website focus now."
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
'Human error' behind massive internet outage across lower North Island
Human error during planned works resulted in internet outages. Photo: 123RF Ultrafast broadband provider Chorus says Friday morning's massive internet outage across the lower North Island was caused by human error. Connections went down before 11am, affecting connections from Wellington, Kapiti, Hutt Valley, Palmerston North and through to Napier. One internet service provider estimated 90 percent of customers in the regions were affected. The outage lasted more than an hour, and was fixed by about 12.30pm. Chorus on Friday afternoon said it was "the result of human error during planned works, which resulted in one of our core ethernet routers for the Wellington region being isolated from our network". "The error was identified and corrected, and all services restored within a 1.5-hour period," the infrastructure provider said. "At its peak, approximately 118,000 services were affected by the outage." Chorus said a "full investigation" had been launched, "which will include a review of our planned works processes, and any changes needed to prevent a similar situation in future". "Chorus sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused and thanks those impacted for their patience and understanding." Gorilla Technology chief executive Paul Spain told RNZ that he understood the equipment that failed was based in a Chorus site on Wellington's Courtenay Place. Spain said it appeared to have had some sort of technical fault. "We usually don't have these things having such a widespread impact because there tends to be redundancy built into the system, because if one component fails another part of the network takes up the slack and keeps operating." He said it was likely Chorus would provide more details in due course. "We usually see the Chorus network being really resilient and serving New Zealand well, so you know this is a reasonably uncommon occurrence." Spain told RNZ these types of issues could have a widespread impact. "I think Chorus will be working hard after this to understand what happened [and] how do they make sure it never happens again." Earlier, Voyager said it had identified an issue affecting "Chorus Wellington UFB (ultrafast broadband) handover". "This handover services Wellington, Kapiti, Hutt Valley, Palmerston North and through to Napier." Just after 12.30pm, Voyager said connections were starting to come back online, but users might need to restart their routers. "My office is being kept updated on the situation," Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said earlier, when connections were still offline. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
