Royally Zucked

Despite my dislike for the company, 7 days ago I created a Facebook account so that I may run advertisements on Instagram to validate a product idea. I associated a phone number, email address, uploaded a photo of myself taken that instance, and even my driver’s license. 24 hours later the account was terminated without any possibility of appeal because it apparently didn’t follow their community standards. I had performed no actions on this account.

Typically, this would be but a mild inconvenience. For those who actively use Facebook, this would sting a thousand times worse.

Now, I haven’t used Facebook in over a decade nor have I used any of their products over the last few years, but my girlfriend graciously gifted me an Oculus Rift S in February 2020. According to Oculus, come 2023 I will no longer be able to use this hardware to its full potential because Facebook doesn’t believe I’m a real person.

It’s completely unacceptable to me that a person may provide such a level of detail to their identity and still be denied access with zero recourse. If Facebook is unable to verify a real human, then God help them attempt to control disinformation.

However, my issue does not lie with the fact my account was closed but by virtue of my account being closed, I can no longer fully utilise the features of the hardware I paid hundreds of pounds for. I can understand the decisions that product managers made to come to this, but I do not agree with them.

For that reason, the solution for me is simple. Sell my Oculus (however grateful I am for the gift) and purchase hardware from a company where the product is the creation of the best gaming experience.

I humbly recommend you reconsider before buying a product from companies such as Facebook, Amazon, or Google where your account is paramount to the experience.

Game developers, please do not rely on the underlying systems Oculus has in place for social experiences.