Instagram suspends watchdog account “AIPAC Tracker,” citing IP/trademark rules [U: Account reinstated]

Update 12/02/26 – 09:18 am (IST): The AIPAC team has confirmed that their Instagram account has been reinstated. However, the platform has yet to clarify why the account was suspended in the first place.

Original article published on February 11, 2026, follows:

Instagram suspended the “AIPAC Tracker” account yesterday, citing violations of the platform’s intellectual property and trademark policies. The watchdog account, which had over 137,000 followers, tracked political spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and posted updates about lobbying activities.

The suspension caught users off guard because Instagram didn’t provide specific details about which content triggered the action. Screenshots shared by the account show a notice stating “Your account, or activity on it, doesn’t follow our Terms of Use on intellectual property, including our policies on trademark”.

The account submitted an appeal on the same day, but Instagram noted it typically takes just over a day to review appeals.

Instagram’s parent company Meta requires trademark infringement reports to come directly from rights holders or their authorized representatives, such as attorneys. When the platform receives a proper claim, it removes or disables access to the allegedly infringing content. Accounts that repeatedly violate intellectual property rights can face permanent disablement under Meta’s Repeat Infringer Policy.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Watchdog accounts typically use the names of organizations they’re monitoring, but that can bump up against trademark rules. Instagram doesn’t allow accounts to use protected names or logos if it might confuse people about who actually runs the account. Whether tracking and commentary count as fair use is something that varies case by case.

While most commenters suspect it’s targeted censorship, there’s little to no evidence to support the theory, at least at the moment.

During the suspension period, the account isn’t visible to other Instagram users and cannot be accessed normally. We have also confirmed that the account no longer appears on Instagram.

That said, the appeal process gives Meta’s review team a chance to examine whether the suspension was warranted. If they find the account follows their Terms of Use, access gets restored. If not, the account may be permanently disabled with no option to appeal again.

While they’re yet to hear back from Instagram, the suspended account directed followers to alternative platforms like UpScrolled while waiting for Instagram’s decision. Meta allows up to 180 days for appeals before suspensions become permanent, though most reviews wrap up much faster.

We’ll keep an eye out for any further developments and will update the article accordingly.

We stand out from the tech-media crowd because we break news stories; we mainly bring you stuff that you won’t find anywhere in the mainstream tech media. Our stories have been picked up by some of the world’s most popular websites and media outlets—more info is available here.