Attorney General Bonta Questions Meta on No Kings Coalition Instagram Suspension

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in asking Meta to further explain its suspension of the No Kings Coalition Instagram account on October 17, 2026, and to detail its plans to ensure that legitimate election activity on Meta platforms is not disrupted.

"Millions of Californians rely on social media to organize, read news, and obtain information about upcoming elections," said Attorney General Bonta. "Today, I am asking Meta to further explain its suspension of the No Kings Coalition Instagram account, which occurred at the height of the coalition's organized and widely promoted efforts to support early voting. My office is committed to ensuring communication platforms like Meta remain open for robust political speech, particularly so during critical election cycles."

Meta has admitted to erroneously suspending the Instagram account of the No Kings Coalition protest movement on October 17. Meta has attributed the shutdown to a sharp ​increase in activity that looked like automated bot traffic rather ‌than human exchanges, suggesting that the company is unable to differentiate between legitimate political activity and bot activity that harms users.

Today's letter asks that Meta provide more information about the October 17 suspension, including specifics regarding when Meta became aware of the suspension and what steps the company took to rectify the error, as well as information on how the company is working to ensure legitimate political activity is distinguished from harmful bot traffic going forward. The letter also asks Meta to explain how it intends to protect legitimate political activity during the critical period before, during, and after the upcoming November 3 election, and beyond. The attorneys general ask that Meta provide a response no later than this Thursday, October 29.

In sending the letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.