Meta's own policy language — quoted in MediaNama's September 2026 coverage of the Blink Digital case — puts a hard six-month clock on disabled ad accounts: run out the clock without reinstatement, and unused prepaid balances "may be forfeited where allowed by law."
What happened
In September 2026, Indian agency Blink Digital sued Meta after its Business Manager accounts were disabled en masse. Reporting on the case, MediaNama quoted Meta's policy wording verbatim: "If your ad account is disabled for a policy violation and remains ineligible for reinstatement for six months, any unused prepaid services may be forfeited where allowed by law. After this time frame, the account can't be reinstated."
Two things do the work in that sentence. First, the trigger is not the ban itself but six months of continuous ineligibility — every failed appeal round keeps the clock running. Second, "where allowed by law" makes forfeiture jurisdiction-dependent: it is not automatic everywhere, and local consumer or financial rules may constrain it. What is not jurisdiction-dependent is the second half: after six months, reinstatement is off the table permanently.
Who's affected
Advertisers holding prepaid balances in disabled accounts — most acutely agencies running client money through Business Manager structures. The quiet victims are the patient ones: advertisers who treat a ban as "wait for Meta to reply" and let months burn while the window closes.
KappS's take
- Count the clock on day one. Every disabled-account case starts with "how many days until month six?" — diary it like a court deadline, not a vague worry.
- Run appeal and fund-recovery in parallel. Don't bet the whole balance on reinstatement inside the window; document spend, top-ups, and balances as if you will need to claim them.
- "Where allowed by law" is leverage, not fine print. Get local advice on whether forfeiture of your balance is even enforceable in your jurisdiction before conceding it.
- For large balances, note the precedent. Blink Digital took Meta to court in India — litigation pressure is now a documented escalation path, not a fantasy.