Article 21 of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) allows national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) to endow organisations with the task of settling content moderation disputes. The Article 21 Academic Advisory Board (‘The Board’) brings together researchers to facilitate discussions and provide practical guidance on how out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) bodies should function.
Our Mission
The Article 21 Academic Advisory Board discusses the most challenging issues arising in the development of out-of-court dispute settlement mechanisms under the DSA. It provides guidance to out-of-court dispute resolution bodies and regulators and informs the work of academics and civil society organisations. Exploring how to put Article 21 into practice, it aims to make an important contribution to the emerging out-of-court dispute resolution landscape and shape how out-of-court dispute settlement can improve content moderation accountability in Europe and globally.
How the Advisory Board works
The Board consists of four academics who commit to serving on the Board for a minimum of twelve months. In every meeting, a fifth seat on the Board will be filled by an academic who has particular expertise on the subject matter and contributes to the meeting as a discussant. The Board is organised and facilitated by its administration and Research Fellows.
Aspiring and certified ODS bodies can bring the most difficult and consequential issues arising from their establishment and operations to the attention of the Board. The Advisory Board selects the most pressing issues raised to it and discusses them in bi-monthly meetings under Chatham House Rules. To inform the discussion of the Board, regulators are invited to provide their perspectives on the issues.
Following the discussion, the Advisory Board publishes “Discussion Reports.” These reports clearly outline the questions discussed, provide different options to answer them and outline their implications.
ODS bodies that raise issues to the Board also commit to providing explanations of their current practice and plans to improve their practice to the Board. These explanations will either be treated as an internal resource for the Board or, with the agreement of the ODS bodies, be published on the Board's website after the Board has issued its report.
For more detailed explanations and information on how to contribute to the work of the Board, see the FAQs below.
João Pedro Quintais is an Associate Professor, Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. His research areas include the application of intellectual property (IP) law to new technologies, the implications of copyright law and its enforcement, the role and responsibilities of large-scale platforms in the context of illegal or harmful content moderation, as well as legal implications of generative AI.
Iva Nenadić is an Assistant Professor of media and digital policy at the University of Zagreb and a Research Fellow at the European University Institute’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. She studies media pluralism in the context of content moderation policies of online platforms, and related regulatory interventions. She is a member of the Committee of Experts on the Impacts of GenAI for Freedom of Expression (MSI-AI) at the Council of Europe, and in the Management Committee of the European Digital Media Observatory.
Giovanni De Gregorio is the PLMJ Chair in Law and Technology at Católica Global School of Law and Católica Lisbon School of Law. His research interests include digital constitutionalism, freedom of expression, privacy and data protection law, and digital policy. Giovanni is the author of the monograph Digital Constitutionalism in Europe: Reframing Rights and Powers in the Algorithmic Society (Cambridge University Press 2022).
Hannah Ruschemeier is a Junior Professor of Public Law, Data Protection Law/Law of the Digital Transformation at the Faculty of Law of the Fernuniversität Hagen. Her research interests include new forms of intervention in fundamental rights, digital aspects of administrative and constitutional law, legal theoretical foundations of digitalization, data protection law, and legal aspects of privacy.
Niklas Eder is a Digital Policy Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford Law School, a Visiting Lecturer at King’s College London and a Co-Founder of User Rights. He serves as Director of the administration of the Article 21 Advisory Board.
Nitya Kuthiala works at the intersection of emerging technologies, AI ethics, and safety. She leads the Board's communications and outreach work streams and supports the Board's strategic development.
Discussion Reports
Discussion Report No. 1: The role of statements of reasons in out-of-court dispute settlement
August 2024
In its first meeting, the Article 21 - Academic Advisory Board discussed how the quality of statements of reasons provided by platforms should impact the decisions of out-of-court dispute settlement bodies (ODS bodies). It developed a concrete solution which ODS bodies can apply to account for the importance of the reasoning given by platforms. This solution accounts for the fact that platforms require time to fully comply with the DSA and its Article 17. It also allows ODS bodies to assume a strategic role in the broader DSA landscape and to support gradual progress. The Discussion Report presents the questions the Board engaged with, outlines options considered by the Board and summarises its key considerations. These include the role of fundamental rights in dispute resolution; the standard of review of ODS bodies; strategic cooperation of ODS bodies with other important actors (e.g. fact checkers); possibilities of ODS bodies to encourage platforms to provide statements of reasons that satisfy the requirements under Art. 17 DSA; the role of reporting data and sharing insights with other actors and academia.
Jeffery Howard joined the Board as a discussant in the first board Meeting. Jeffrey is an Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Public Policy at University College London.
Discussion Report No. 2: The role of fundamental rights in out-of-court dispute selement under Art. 21 DSA
Article 14 (4) of the DSA mandates that platforms implement content restrictions with respect for users’ rights and legitimate interests, emphasising that this obligation, rooted in the CFR, is primary and applies in both public and private contexts. However, Article 14 (4) offers minimal guidance on implementing these rights-respecting content restrictions and other moderation practices, creating ambiguity in assessing compliance. This raises the following concrete questions the Board discussed in their second meeting:
Should ODS bodies review whether platforms comply with their fundamental rights obligations under Art. 14 (4) DSA and the CFR? And if so, in what kind of cases should they do such a review?
The Board recognises that the DSA places fundamental rights at the centre of the content moderation landscape it creates. However, it does not provide precise guidance on how these rights should be accounted for by the various actors in this landscape. The Board recommends that ODS bodies incorporate fundamental rights considerations into content moderation assessments, ensuring that moderation decisions align with the standards set by the DSA, the CFR, and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Board stresses that fundamental rights assessments in moderation decisions must balance thoroughness and efficiency. Therefore, ODS bodies should decide on a case-by-case basis whether a fundamental rights review is necessary. Additionally, the Board advises that ODS bodies facilitate dialogue among stakeholders, including researchers and civil society, to clarify the standards governing the review of fundamental rights in procedures under Article 21. The goal of this dialogue is to specify how fundamental rights apply to content moderation and to define the roles of different actors in upholding these rights under the DSA.
The Board emphasises that ODS bodies play a critical role in providing independent, swift, and thorough remedies to users, with the aim of protecting their rights. Their work complements the functions of courts and should contribute to informing systemic risk assessments. Acknowledging the need for further discussion, the Board resolved to examine in greater detail how fundamental rights should be applied and to develop concrete legal standards for these assessments in a future meeting.
Martin Husovec joined the Board as a discussant in the second board Meeting. Martin is an Associate Professor of Law at the London School of Economics.
In the Article “A New Animal Joins the Circus: On the Nature and Value of Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Under the DSA” published in Tech Policy Press, Niklas Eder (Director of the administration of the Article 21 - Academic Advisory Board) and Giovanni Di Gregorio (Board Member), developed a vision for the added value of out-of-court dispute settlement under the DSA and warn against pitfalls.
Launch of the Article 21 - Academic Advisory Board
Press Release
August 2024
Administration
Berlin, 14. August 2024 – User Rights founded the Article 21 - Academic Advisory Board to connect out-of-court dispute settlement bodies with academia. The Board discusses the most difficult questions defining the emerging field of out-of-court dispute settlement for content moderation. It serves as a forum to develop well informed solutions to practical problems.
Article 21 of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) allows national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) to endow organisations with the task of settling content moderation disputes. These organisations, out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) bodies, can then issue decisions on whether content moderation actions - such as the removal of posts or the demotion of content - were justified. The DSA envisions ODS decisions to be non-binding but requires platforms to cooperate with ODS bodies in good faith.
Out-of-court dispute settlement has the potential to improve platform accountability and protect rights and democracy. Yet, it is unclear how ODS bodies should function and how they can realise their full potential. The first ODS bodies, which have received or are seeking certification, have to answer difficult questions, for instance, regarding the level of fundamental rights protection in the digital sphere, for which regulators can only provide limited guidance. How these questions are answered will determine the nature and added value of out-of-court dispute settlement under the DSA.
The Article 21 Academic Advisory Board is founded on the premise that researchers should play a pivotal role in answering these questions. The Advisory Board serves as a forum and driver of an academic debate that seeks to provide practical guidance.
The administration selects Board Members and provides them with support in their work.
The Board consists of four academics who commit to serving on the Board for a minimum of twelve months. In every meeting, the Board will be joined by a discussant who has particular expertise on the subject matter. The administration selects Board Members and provides them with support in their work.
The administration engages with ODS bodies which would like to consult the Board. In coordination with Board Members, it selects the questions the Board engages with, prepares and chairs meetings and publishes discussion reports.
The administration is supported by Fellows, who support the research and publications of the Advisory Board.
Neither the Board Members nor members of the administration or fellows receive funding from the Board.
The Advisory Board is established by User Rights. It invites other ODS bodies to participate.
The administration is responsible for selecting Board Members and contributing academics, scheduling and preparing meetings, drafting briefs and discussion reports, and publishing these reports. It is also responsible for defining and refining the processes of the Board, interacting with ODS bodies, proposing and selecting issues to be addressed, and chairing Board meetings.
The set-up of the Board will be reassessed after twelve months. It is difficult to predict how the ODS landscape and the role of the Board within it will evolve during this period. In June 2025, the administration will assess the role and functioning of the Board. Together with Board Members, the administration will evaluate the Advisory Board’s opportunities for additional impact and consider whether changes to the operating structure are necessary in its second year.
Based on this evaluation, the administration will develop a concept for the second year and discuss with the Board Members whether they wish to continue working with the Board.
There are three ways in which ODS bodies will interact with the Board. They will (1) join bi-monthly meetings, (2) contribute written statements that inform discussions and (3) share a brief explanation of how they currently approach the issues addressed in Discussion Reports and how they aim to approach them in the future.
(1) Bi-monthly meetings: ODS bodies that join the Board will meet with the administration of the Board on a bi-monthly basis. These meetings have two main agenda items:
a. Presentation of Discussion Report: The administration will share the Discussion Report with the ODS bodies prior to the meeting. In the meeting, the administration will answer questions related to this report which is followed by an open discussion.
b. Discussion of topics for the next Board meeting: The administration prepares potential topics for the next Board meeting and shares them with ODS bodies prior to the meeting. ODS bodies can contribute suggestions which will then be added to the pool of potential topics. The group will discuss the topics.
(2) Statement on a topic to inform Board discussion meetings: After the topic for the next Board meeting has been finalised, the administration will reach out to ODS bodies, share the topic which will be discussed, and request a short statement expressing the initial thoughts and point of views on the selected topic. This statement should not exceed one page. The statement will be shared with the Board before the Board meeting. It will serve as an internal resource informing the Board’s discussion. Its substance may also be reflected in the Discussion Report, but the information provided in the statement will not be attributed to any particular ODS body.
(3) Provide an explanation of the approach of the ODS body: After a Discussion Report has been shared with them, ODS bodies provide a brief explanation of how they are currently approaching the topic addressed in the report and how they aim to approach it in the future. The ODS bodies can choose whether this explanation should be treated as confidential and will only be shared with Board Members internally or whether it can be published on the Board’s website.
ODS bodies are free to work with Board Members outside of the processes of the Board if they wish.
ODS bodies who want to participate in the Advisory Board commit to work with the Board from the moment they sign up until the end of the first year of the Board’s existence (June 2025), following which the working of the Board and conditions of participation will be reconsidered.
Participating ODS bodies commit to providing the above-outlined contributions (participate in bi-monthly meetings and provide statements and explanations) for all Board meetings.
At least until June 2025, participation does not require a formal commitment and is free of charge.
Participating ODS bodies will be listed on the Board’s website unless otherwise agreed.
We expect ODS bodies to set up forums to coordinate on more practical issues, such as how to structure data exchange with platforms, how to ensure timely payment, how to check for previous relevant decisions, etc. The Academic Advisory Board, with its unique focus on discussing difficult questions shaping the substantive work and impact of ODS bodies, will complement and co-exist with such forums.
The Board will invite the Commission and DSCs to contribute to its work. It will also invite other organisations which have a mandate or mission to support the implementation of the DSA to contribute to the discussions of the Board.
The administration will contact the regulators and organisations contributing to the work of the Board in advance of each Board meeting. It will communicate the issue to be discussed.
It will also request a brief statement expressing regulators’ and organisations’ initial views on the issue or any considerations they believe should be taken into account in the discussion. These statements should not exceed one page. They will be shared with the Board in advance of the Board meeting and serve as an internal resource to inform the Board's discussion. Their content may also be reflected in the discussion reports, but the information contained in the statements will not be attributed to any particular regulator or organisation unless they explicitly agree.
In addition to submitting statements prior to Board meetings, regulators and contributing organisations may participate in a bi-monthly call. During these calls, the discussion report will be presented and there will be an opportunity for discussion. In addition, the administration will share potential topics for the next Board meeting and invite feedback on these topics. Regulators and organisations can make suggestions, which will be added to the pool of potential topics.
