SARASOTA, Fla. (October 26, 2026). Dean Abrams, the No Party Affiliation candidate for Governor of Florida, has not been able to buy a single Facebook or Instagram ad in the general election. Abrams was locked out of fundraising and bringing awareness to his campaign through ads, and had to rely on his own funds to run the campaign with limited reach. Meta took down his accounts in May, immediately after he submitted a government ID and a face scan to verify his identity, and has since blocked the identity check Meta requires before a candidate can run political ads.
Meta never sent Abrams written notice or gave a reason, only a message stating the decision is immediate and final.
“I handed Meta my driver's license and a biometric scan of my face. Immediately after, my accounts were gone. No notice, no reason, just a message stating that I cannot request a review of the decision. If a candidate for governor can be cut off this way, any Floridian can. I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of Floridians for Meta to silence a political candidate for office, especially a candidate for governor.”
Timeline
- May 25: Meta disabled Abrams' Facebook and Instagram accounts after he submitted his candidate information, his government ID, and a biometric face scan.
- June 1 and June 2: Abrams submitted additional face scans when Instagram allowed additional biometric scans.
- June 2: Meta deleted the new Facebook account after Abrams submitted an additional face scan and ID upload for Instagram.
- June 11: Abrams qualified for the November ballot as a candidate for Governor.
- Summer and fall: Instagram reinstated a new account with restrictions. A new Facebook account repeatedly failed Meta's identity verification, which blocked authorization to run political ads. On Sept. 15, Meta rejected a re-application on the grounds that his driver's license was expired. The license is valid through 2033. Meta had also rejected his U.S. passport, valid through 2036, multiple times since May, never giving a reason. When appealing the invalid claim regarding his driver’s license expiration date, the appeal sat for several weeks with no response and no way to resume the application.
- Oct. 13: Meta's deadline for political ad authorization passed.
Abrams has documented each step with screenshots, including a screen recording of his June Instagram face-scan appeal, and is preserving the record.
The campaign opened a TikTok account, which did not require biometric verification. The account appeared restricted with little reach; On Sept. 12, TikTok briefly displayed a notice on Abrams' account reading "Account not recommended." TikTok deleted several videos but gave no explanation.
Abrams has campaigned on data rights, limits on biometric and mass surveillance, and mandatory registration of data brokers. He spent 30 years in enterprise technology at Microsoft, HP, KPMG, and Avanade, and studied AI at MIT.
Media contact: Dean Abrams · dean@deanabrams.com · 941-233-4951
About Dean Abrams: Dean Abrams is a No Party Affiliation candidate for Governor of Florida. He spent 30 years in enterprise technology and management consulting, including Microsoft, HP, KPMG, and Avanade. His campaign is self-funded and accepts no PAC or corporate money.