Under the DSA, out-of-court dispute settlement bodies offer an additional opportunity for users to resolve content moderation disputes with online platforms.
Contesting content moderation decisionsUsers can contest content moderation decisions restricting their accounts or sanctioning their content in several ways. This right also applies to reports of illegal content that were rejected by the platform. According to the DSA, users may appeal to the internal complaint-handling system of platforms, which requires platforms to review their decisions.
The DSA also enables users to refer to out-of-court dispute settlement bodies. These bodies are an alternative to judicial proceedings offering a faster and more cost-effective way to settle disputes. Users may select any out-of-court dispute settlement body - that has been EU certified for their type of dispute - and request a review of a platform’s content moderation decision. Online platforms are obliged to engage with this body. Lastly, users may always take the matter to their national courts.
How do out-of-court dispute settlement bodies work?Both users and online platforms have to engage in good faith with the selected out-of-court-dispute settlement body with a view to resolving the dispute. The allocation of the fees depends on the outcome of the procedure. In any case, for the recipients of the service, the dispute settlement will usually be available free of charge or at a nominal fee. Out-of-court dispute settlement bodies do not have the power to impose a binding settlement of the dispute on the parties, but they offer a fair and swift review.
The certification processOrganisations wishing to become an out-of-court dispute settlement body need to submit an application with the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) of their country of establishment.
The DSCs are responsible for overseeing the DSA implementation in their respective country, including out-of-court dispute settlement bodies. The certification is valid for a maximum of five years and can be renewed. Certified bodies must uphold certain conditions:
Only EU-based bodies can be certified as out-of-court dispute settlement bodies. This ensures that out-of-court dispute settlement bodies operate within the regulatory framework of the EU, contributing to a harmonised approach in resolving content moderation disputes. The certification is valid across all Member States. However, a certification can be limited to certain areas of expertise (particular types of illegal content or particular types of online platforms) or certain languages in which the body is capable of settling disputes.
Out-of-court dispute settlement bodies provide annual reports to their national DSCs on their work. In turn, each DSC reports once every two years on the functioning of all out-of-court dispute settlement bodies that they certified. These reports contain information on the number of disputes, their outcomes, the time taken to resolve the disputes, encountered difficulties, best practices and recommendations to improve the functioning.
List of bodiesThe Commission publishes and updates – following notification from DSCs - a list certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies. See the list of approved out-of-court settlement bodies below.
Name Website Certifying DSC Areas of expertise Languages Date of certification ADROIT https://adroit.legal/ Malta Communications Authority (MT) Online shopping and online booking platforms; Content sharing and content driven marketing platforms; Crowdfunding and P2P lending; Web3, Defi, NFT and fintech platforms and protocols; Gaming, gambling and betting platforms; B2B, B2C and P2P trading platforms and marketplaces Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish 10.07.2024 User Rights GmbH https://user-rights.org/en Bundesnetzagentur (DE)TikTok
Content policy violations on
TikTok
YouTube
The content in question can be in any language spoken in the EU.
Guidance, forms and decisions are available in: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
26.09.2024 RTR-GmbH, Fachbereich Medien https://www.rtr.at/beschwerdeportal KommAustria (AT) Breaches of information obligations, Breaches of data protection and privacy, Unlawful statements, Unwanted behaviour, Online bullying/intimidation, Pornography or sexualised content, Protection of minors, Fraud and/or deception, Incitement to self-harm, Non-restriction of access to the platform/content, violence, offences against intellectual property and other commercial rights German 24.10.2024 ADR Center https://www.adrcenter.it AGCOM (IT) Harmful or illegal products and services; Violations of data protection, privacy, and non-consensual sharing of material; Incitement to hatred, violation of human dignity, and other similar crimes; Violation of intellectual property rights and other commercial rights; Interference with elections and disinformation; Online bullying/intimidation; Pornographic or sexualized content; Violations of laws protecting children and minors; Risk to public safety; Scams and/or frauds; Crimes against animals; Acts of violence or criminal activity; Violations related to access to the platform Italian, English 18.12.2024RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
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