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Regina cake shop owner says being locked out of social accounts is devastating for business

Queen City Cakes owner says that the business relies on social media because people eat with their eyes.  (Ayden Creative - image credit)
Queen City Cakes owner says that the business relies on social media because people eat with their eyes. (Ayden Creative - image credit)

Jared Bugyi was checking his business's social media page one night when he noticed about 14 posts had been reported.

Bugyi is the owner of Queen City Cakes in Regina. His Facebook and Instagram pages were both suspended.

He's tried disputing the suspension, but said it hasn't gotten him anywhere. He also said he hasn't even been given details about which posts were reported.

"So now we're having clients that are trying to reach out to us saying 'why aren't you getting back to us?' And things like that we don't even see coming in. We can't access a thing," Bugyi said.

The Facebook page is still visible — the most recent post is from May 20 — but Bugyi said he can't access it. The Instagram page is listed as unavailable.

"People eat with their eyes, and we're doing so many different things and creating new products all the time and we can't get it out there. So no one really knows what we're doing," he said.

Gerhardt Photography
Gerhardt Photography

Not the first time

Ken Coates is the Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. In an interview with CBC Radio's Morning Edition, Coates said that he's heard this story before.

"Very often you hear stories very much like this case, where people aren't told why they're being banned," Coates said. "Social media companies have opened up a system that is extremely difficult to regulate."

Submitted by Ken Coates
Submitted by Ken Coates

Coates said that this can not only have an effect on small businesses like in this case, but social media companies are actually profiting off pages.

"They're making money off of Queen City Cakes. And so it follows logically that they should be responsible for telling you what's going on," he said.

While Coates said that it's 20 years too late for social media companies to create better regulations, what's needed now is collective education and a re-establishment of consumer controls over the internet.

In the meantime, regardless of why it happened, Bugyi said he's grateful for other businesses who are sharing the business's content and for the community sharing their support.

"Small businesses are the heartbeat of a community, and maybe just think about what you're doing before you do it," Bugyi said.

LISTEN | Jared Bugy spoke with Stefani Langenegger on CBC Saskatchewan's Morning Edition.