Snapchat has been unfairly censoring, locking, deleting pages, and removing Snap Stars (verification) from its large creators who didn’t violate the community guidelines. This is happening to many users across the app, yet Snapchat refuses to speak up on this issue. 

Sign the petition to bring justice towards all the users of this app who were treated unfairly by Snap. 

One person to speak up about this issue of undeserved punishment is musical artist and meme page owner, Johnny Montilla. Even after going to the extent of making sure he and his fellow admins don’t break any rules or content guidelines, he is being unfairly shut out from his current and potential audience. Snapchat has revoked his Snap Star (verification) with the vague reasoning of “repeated violations of Snap's Community Guidelines”, after previously blocking his content from his well-warned subscribers and going the extra mile to even unsubscribe people from his account. His username is @johnny on the platform, so it’s pretty simple and easy to remember.

Statement from Johnny Montilla: “I am Johnny Montilla and I approve this message. I don't think I deserved getting my Snap Star revoked. All I do is share lifestyle content, funny memes, motivational advice, and responses to messages I receive. Snapchat has sent me a robot message that they sent to everyone else who lost their star: “We are sending notice that your Snap Star is being revoked due to repeated violations of Snap's Community Guidelines. You received in-app warnings for these violations”. What community guidelines did I break? What was I doing that every other Snap Star on the discover page wasn’t doing? I would love to know what I did wrong so that I don’t repeat that same mistake, but they don’t tell me. Last time Snapchat warned me via email, they accused me of community guideline violations I didn’t commit and closed off the message with: “it is against our Snap Star policies to primarily utilize your account to post memes and recycled content. Snap Star content should be original and personality driven.” I thought it was a rather silly rule, but I still abided by it and added personal, lifestyle Snaps to my scheduled content to balance out the memes. I started responding to messages more, posting more original Snap Camera content, promoting my music, etc. In all honesty, I don’t understand why they’re so against Snap Stars posting memes. I started posting memes because I wanted to entertain others, make them laugh, and make their day better overall, but as time passed, I started becoming so much more than just a “meme page”. It’s a shame Snap isn’t able to see that, but at least I know I’m speaking my truth.

 It’s been a bit since I’ve received an in-app warning, but whenever I got one in the past, it never tells me what post I received a warning for (unlike Instagram, which tells you exactly what it was). It always left me confused, wondering what it could’ve been. If only they were clear, many violations could’ve (and would’ve) been prevented for users all across the app. No one wants to have their Snapchat deleted. I’ve emailed the Snap team in charge of Snap Star creators on the platform with questions in the past, but they often seem to be unresponsive. If the problem involves the use of clickbait, just know almost every single creator on the discover page uses clickbait. They wouldn't even have to use clickbait if Snap's broken algorithm didn't favor it over “normal” Snaps. The Snap Stars have to resort to posting clickbait just to be seen on the platform. Isn’t that crazy? There are countless Snap Star creators that I know that don’t get pushed out at all. They post amazing content, yet it is not seen. It’s depressing. Fix the algorithm. Even news outlets on the app have to resort to using clickbait to lure in viewers. If Snap Stars aren’t allowed to use clickbait, then news outlet stories shouldn’t be able to use it either. 

Also, there are Snap Stars out there who post things that 100% violate guidelines every single day, yet they get to keep their star. It's very unfair. I ain't a snitch though. I'll let the users of the app report it... that is, if the in-app report feature really works. It didn't work too well a few months ago when one Snap Star posted clear photos of his bulge on his story every single day for over a year, whose Snaps went viral across different social media platforms. Snapchat was definitely aware of what he was doing. He most definitely received over 1,000 reports a day, yet Snap still took MONTHS to take action. How am I receiving the same treatment as him? Really? 

Not only that, but Snapchat has been unsubscribing people from my page. This is no longer a secret. Every once in a while, my loyal subscribers come back to my page to tell me that they've been unsubbed. This has been going on for over a year. This should NOT be happening and I believe it's extremely messed up how they are expecting people to not notice. 

With all of this being said, I would like to say that I just want answers. I would like things to be fair: free from self-interest, deception, injustice, or favoritism. That is all. I, along with many other people, don't think I deserved to have my Snap Star taken away. I've worked very hard to build a community on the platform, just to have my efforts put on hold. I’ve earned over 400,000  subscribers on the app in around a year and a half, all while fighting a shadowban for most of that time.  Godzilla Gang, if you're reading this, thank you for everything. You’re all amazing and I am very grateful for all of you. You’ve made my time on the app enjoyable. I really want to stay on one of my favorite social media apps, but we’ll see what happens. I messaged Snap asking to set up a Zoom meeting with other Snap Stars to discuss these situations and I am awaiting their reply. Hopefully, we could all get some clarity on this predicament so we could fix things and make them right. If you’re a reporter from the press who wants to get in contact with me to talk more about this situation, please feel free to contact me through Instagram: @johnnyjmontilla. I would love to speak with you so that my voice is heard. Thank You.”

 

It doesn’t end with just Snap Stars though. Things like this are also happening to regular users of the app. One Twitter user tweeted out, “@Snapchat I’ve done NOTHING WRONG I DIDNT EVEN POST ANYTHING THATS AGAINST YOUR GUIDELINES ALL MY MEMORIES ARE ON THERE. ARE YOU PEOPLE OK.” Guess what they received in response? A useless robot message from Snapchat that said “Unfortunately we cannot provide any further information over Twitter. Please review our Terms of Service for more information: http://snap.com/terms 

If you still need help, please submit a request here: http://support.snapchat.com/i-need-help 

Another user tweeted out “@snapchatsupport @Snapchat my account got locked a couple days ago for no reason and nothing i’ve tried to do to unlock it had worked. y’all ain’t even responding to me emails [Frowning face emoji]” 

Even more, one Twitter user makes a very good point: “@Snapchat @snapchatsupport You guys should have an Appeal feature for accounts that were wrongly deleted it’s so toxic you guys are deleting our accounts with all our memories in them for no reason!!!”

I agree with them. They really should have that feature. It’s already hard enough to get in contact with a Snapchat employee who's a real person and not an AI bot.

Here’s another tweet to add on to the list: “About to kill myself , @Snapchat just deleted my account with over 5 years of having it. All of my memories and friends added on there. @snapchatsupport”. 

This is ridiculous. This should not be happening.

Please sign the petition to bring justice towards all the users of this app who were treated unfairly. Every signature counts. We must come together and stand for what is right. 

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Media companies or news reporters, you’re welcome to reach out to me (the creator of this petition) via Instagram (@gia183) to discuss.