Hello.
I have been an active Pond5 contributor for years, until recently. Suddenly they just blocked and wiped my account with no explanation. They didn't even notify me.
Later, but only when I contacted them, they explained that "There is evidence that your account is linked to activities that are against our policies."
Although I insisted (through calls, chats and e-mails to their customer service, even to their legal department) on knowing what those activities would be, they have not given my any explanation. When I asked if I could open an account again, an agent just said "I don't think so".
I do have a guess. In my second account (having two accounts is allowed by Pond5 as long the content is different), I had footage that depicted a terrorist holding a weapon. I produced that footage in a studio, using a greenscreen and putting a "desert" background. It looked very real. The footage was intended to serve in documentaries etc.
Maybe Pond5 thought these images were against there policy, maybe they suspected I was engaged in terrorism, I don't know. I actually don't have a clue because they have not explained and don't seem to want to...
The strange thing is that before closing down the accounts they accepted those images to be up for sale online... and I even had sales on them. If the images were against the policy, why did they not just reject them?
That speaks against the images being the reason...

Has anyone else had their account blocked and wiped by Pond5?
I had invested weeks, months, years in creating, uploading and keywording... huge loss of investment!

Please note that this post is not to get "revenge" speaking bad about Pond5, I am still trying to figure out the reason whey they did this and if there is any way to have it solved (at least being allowed a new account).

and the clip(s) were accepted elsewhere?

Yes, they were accepted on another stock site as well. But I have removed them just to be safe.

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I do think it's unfortunate that the contracts, in general, allow the agency to close an account at any time for any - or no - reason. It does mean that from a legal standpoint, you probably don't have any recourse to get the details on why the account was closed.

I find it hard to imagine why having content they found objectionable would result in account closure - why not just remove the offending content? Agencies have done that many times when they've decided that certain kinds of subjects are too risky (legally). Cruise ships, cars, certain types of furniture, etc. have all be deactivated from collections when a policy change occurred.

The sorts of things that result in closed accounts and bans are stolen content, plagiarized content or buying rings that attempt to improve search position for content. So if you shot green screen video that you composited with someone else's background scenes, that might trigger an account closure.

Appealing a decision that you think is mistaken is hard when you don't know why the closure happened. The fact that they said "activities" versus content hints that it was something you did versus something you uploaded. Have you ever had any warnings or other issues in the time your Pond5 account has been open that give you any clues? Have you been directing clients not to buy at Pond5 but some other agency and Pond5 got wind of this? All just guesses, but that sort of thing seems at least as likely as some content they didn't care for.

Quote from: Asthebelltolls on February 27, 2018, 19:44

and the clip(s) were accepted elsewhere?

Yes, they were accepted on another stock site as well. But I have removed them just to be safe.

So even you think it might have to do with this clip. They are saying �activities� which seems to imply something else, or they wouldn�t have accepted the clip in the first place. But we are all just speculating. You would know best.

I am sorry to hear about your problem.
Have you tried asking in P5 forum?
There are often moderators replying to all sort of question, I believe it is the best place for you to find out what happened.
Good luck

First things first, if you have not already done so, is to warn your model before they get their door caved in.  Your intention for the clip means nothing, if the buyer decides to use it in a recruitment campaign for ISIS your model, if identifiable, could well be on every piece of facial recognition software going.

Very good point especially in these paranoid times

Quote from: cathyslife on February 27, 2018, 19:19

They didn�t close it for no reason. This is the reason: �There is evidence that your account is linked to activities that are against our policies."


They should be able to tell you what activities. Maybe they think you are a terrorist, since you posted videos depicting that. All the beautiful things in the world you can film, and that is what you chose? 


Or maybe read their policies and see if anything applies.

It is a business, someone's death is another person's bread.

Or should we ignore all sensitive topics such as abuse, suicide, terrorism, death, illness  and only shoot flowers and handshakes? There is a demand for any visual content and we are the suppliers.

Not going to debate that with you. The OP apparently has second thoughts, too, as he (she?) removed the clip �just in case.� 🙂