Suing Meta in Dublin, from our base in the UK

Hoenir

DemiDee said:

and if any other company large or small was just pulling services from whomever it wished, there would be legal redress.

Meta didn't just pull the service though they gave plenty of notice. 

eskbanker

Hoenir said:

DemiDee said:

and if any other company large or small was just pulling services from whomever it wished, there would be legal redress.

Meta didn't just pull the service though they gave plenty of notice. 

That's not what OP said:

DemiDee said:

Our charity's Facebook account was pulled in March without so much as a warning or reason.

Hoenir

eskbanker said:

Hoenir said:

DemiDee said:

and if any other company large or small was just pulling services from whomever it wished, there would be legal redress.

Meta didn't just pull the service though they gave plenty of notice. 

That's not what OP said:

DemiDee said:

Our charity's Facebook account was pulled in March without so much as a warning or reason.

Meta pulled the service across the board back in 2023. Those that lingered no doubt were terminated without notice. As there's was nothing further to be discussed. 

eskbanker

Hoenir said:

eskbanker said:

Hoenir said:

DemiDee said:

and if any other company large or small was just pulling services from whomever it wished, there would be legal redress.

Meta didn't just pull the service though they gave plenty of notice. 

That's not what OP said:

DemiDee said:

Our charity's Facebook account was pulled in March without so much as a warning or reason.

Meta pulled the service across the board back in 2023. Those that lingered no doubt were terminated without notice. As there's was nothing further to be discussed. 

If you're suggesting that this is all part of a wider Meta initiative, this hadn't been highlighted previously in this thread!  What are you referring to by 'the service' that Meta pulled?

user1977

Leaving aside the jurisdiction problems - what would be the legal basis for a claim? I can't see anybody with a Facebook presence has a legal right against Facebook to be there. It's a free (to you) service. They can pull it whenever they want.

35har1old

DemiDee said:

Hello lovely people,

Our charity's Facebook account was pulled in March without so much as a warning or reason. In our 13 years of existence, we'd built up 30,000 likes and all wonderful reviews on what was our main platform. The lack of our Facebook page has resulted in a dire situation for our small charity and the trustees have already sent a letter before action. We now want to follow it up with a claim and wondered whether a small claim would be allowed, given that Meta's offices are in Dublin. If not, then what court process should we use in order to take them to task?  Thank you in advance for any help or personal experience you can provide.

The small claims court in Ireland may not cover this issue.
If it does the limit is 2000 Euros and a 25 Euros fee is payable 

DemiDee

We do have some statutory rights as long as Facebook is a legal entity.

Legal terms of service https://en-gb.facebook.com/legal/terms (section 3) states that:

Nothing in these Terms is intended to [...] affect your statutory rights.

We will exercise professional diligence in providing our Products and services to you and in keeping a safe, secure and error-free environment. Provided that we have acted with professional diligence, we do not accept responsibility for losses not caused by our breach of these Terms or otherwise by our acts; losses that are not reasonably foreseeable by you and us at the time of entering into these Terms; and events beyond our reasonable control.

Meanwhile, in section 4 directly underneath this section, it seems to give some indication as to where to send documents in the event of a claim, though it doesn't specifically mention charities, which are neither consumers nor commercial.

If a claim or dispute arises out of or relates to your use of the Meta Products as a consumer, both you and us agree that you may resolve your individual claim or dispute against us, and we may resolve our claim or dispute against you, in any competent court in the country of your main residence that has jurisdiction over your claim or dispute, and the laws of that country will apply without regard to conflict of law provisions.

If a claim or dispute arises between us that relates to use of the Meta Products in any other capacity, including, but not limited to, access or use of the Meta Products for a business or commercial purpose, or that an entity brings on your behalf, you agree that any such claim or dispute must be resolved exclusively in the US District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court located in San Mateo County.

user1977

DemiDee said:

We do have some statutory rights as long as Facebook is a legal entity.

Legal terms of service https://en-gb.facebook.com/legal/terms (section 3) states that:

Nothing in these Terms is intended to [...] affect your statutory rights. 

So which statutory rights do you think assist you here? Unless I'm missing something, you have no more right to a Facebook page than I do to a login for this forum.

Alderbank

DemiDee said:

We do have some statutory rights as long as Facebook is a legal entity.

Legal terms of service https://en-gb.facebook.com/legal/terms (section 3) states that:

Meanwhile, in section 4 ...

Did you actually read those legal terms of service which you quote as relevant to and supporting your claim?

You can't just pick and choose, discarding any you don't like.

Immediately before the sections you quote comes:

1. Who can use Facebook

... you must:

Provide for your account the same name that you use in everyday life.

Provide accurate information about yourself;

Only create one account (your own) and use it for personal purposes.

Not share your password...

We can...suspend or disable your account for conduct that violates these provisions, as provided in Section 4.2.

DemiDee

Alderbank said:

DemiDee said:

We do have some statutory rights as long as Facebook is a legal entity.

Legal terms of service https://en-gb.facebook.com/legal/terms (section 3) states that:

Meanwhile, in section 4 ...

Did you actually read those legal terms of service which you quote as relevant to and supporting your claim?

You can't just pick and choose, discarding any you don't like.

Immediately before the sections you quote comes:

1. Who can use Facebook

... you must:

Provide for your account the same name that you use in everyday life.

Provide accurate information about yourself;

Only create one account (your own) and use it for personal purposes.

Not share your password...

We can...suspend or disable your account for conduct that violates these provisions, as provided in Section 4.2.

The one account rule is applicable to personal pages, not businesses or charities. Indeed, you have to have a personal account in order to operate a group or a page on Facebook so it is a given that business and charity pages (and/or groups) on FB are run by those who also have a private account of their own.