Dispute Settlement Body for Social Media Platforms

In these cases, we make decisions:

The platform has, for example, removed one of your posts, suspended your account, or algorithmically restricted your content. We assess whether this action was justified and provide a reasoned decision.

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

Submit Your Case

Use our secure and simple online form to file your case.

Submit a Case

WE’LL HANDLE THE REST:

Free of charge

The platform bears the costs of the procedure.

Comprehensive Decision

You will receive a well-reasoned decision based on legal standards.

Here’s How It Works

You reported content, but the platform decided not to remove it? We will check if the platform should have taken action.

Required files

Notification from the platform informing you that the reported content will not be removed.

Submitting your case

Use our secure and simple online form to submit your case and provide additional information.

Submit a Case

WE’LL HANDLE THE REST:

Independent and impartial review

Our mediators assess your case as independent and impartial legal experts.

Comprehensive Decision

You will receive a well-reasoned decision. The platform bears the costs of the procedure.

Here’s How It Works

Why Choose User Rights?

Legal Basis

Legal Basis

User Rights is the first European dispute settlement body specialising on content moderation disputes. It was certified by the German Federal Network Agency under Article 21 of the Digital Services Act (DSA). We review decisions made by social media platforms, offering users, individuals, and organizations a thorough evaluation based on legal standards, while considering fundamental rights.
Legal Decision

Legal Decision

We evaluate whether actions like content removal or decision to leave content on the platform after being notified of its potential illegality are justified. Our assessments are based on European and, where relevant, German law, considering freedom of expression and other fundamental rights. Like no other out-of-court dispute settlement body, User Rights provides well-reasoned decisions accounting for fundamental rights.
Free of Charge

Free of Charge

We review your rights free of charge, both at the national and European levels. The costs are regularly covered by the online platform providers and must always be reasonable. Through our cost and procedure policies, we ensure that our service remains independent and fair for all parties involved. You won’t face hidden fees or financial risks. The European legislator aims to provide you with access to legal evaluations through the dispute settlement process without any associated costs.
Simple and Effective

Simple and Effective

We offer a digital and efficient process that is easy to access and provides a comprehensive understanding of your legal situation. All you need to do is submit the request—we’ll handle the rest. Platforms often overturn their decisions immediately after being contacted by User Rights, acknowledging their error. When they do not reverse the decision right away, User Rights may issue a detailed recommendation to reverse it. Platforms typically comply, recognizing the strong reasoning behind the decision.
Independent and Impartial

Independent and Impartial

Our mediators are certified legal professionals who operate independently and impartially. They have no ties to platforms, affected individuals, or organizations, ensuring unbiased evaluations.

Your Benefits in Detail

“Fundamental rights and in particular freedom of speech in the digital space must be protected.”

Raphael Kneer

Co-Founder of User Rights

More about User Rights

Frequently Asked Questions:

We distinguish between two types of complaints:

1. Direct Impact on You
If you are directly affected by a decision made by the online platform, you can request a review of that action. For instance, if your own content has been deleted, you can have this measure reviewed by us.

2. Lack of Action Following a Report
The second option involves cases where the platform has failed to act after you submitted a report. For example, if you reported content from a third party because it is potentially unlawful or violates the platform’s terms of service, and the platform informs you that no action will be taken, we will review whether the platform should have acted in this situation. In such cases, we require proof from the platform indicating that they have decided not to take any action despite your report.

User Rights is Germany’s first dispute resolution body for content on social media platforms. We are certified by the Federal Network Agency, Germany’s national coordinator for digital services, under Article 21(3) of the Digital Services Act (DSA). We handle complaints from individuals whose posts have been deleted or moderated on social media. Additionally, we address cases where content reported by individuals or (civil society) organizations has not been removed by the online platform.

Our assessments of content moderation cover both alleged violations of national law and breaches of the terms of service of the respective social media platform. We are certified to handle large sections of German criminal law, including (alleged) violations that threaten the democratic rule of law, crimes against public order, and various defamation offenses.

Since violations of terms of service are assessed within a European legal framework, the certification of User Rights for terms of service applies across Europe.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a European regulation aimed at creating a safe and transparent digital space on the internet.

One of the provisions of the DSA is access to out-of-court dispute resolution mechanisms. Under Article 21 of the DSA, online platforms are required to cooperate with independent dispute resolution bodies like User Rights, providing users with the opportunity for free dispute resolution.

The regulation establishes clear rules and responsibilities for online platforms to ensure the protection of fundamental rights and to effectively combat illegal content. Through the DSA, the European Union seeks to make the digital space safer and more transparent.

The processes offered by User Rights enable individuals or (civil society) organizations to receive fair and comprehensible decisions regarding content moderation on social media platforms.

In brief: You submit the application, and we take care of the rest. Once the process is complete, you will receive a well-reasoned decision. The case is prepared and reviewed by a fully qualified lawyer. It is then randomly assigned to a second independent mediator. Our mediators always hold a degree in law, and most are qualified for judicial office with extensive experience in legal practice. The expertise of our mediators covers a wide range of legal areas and topics. More on this here.

We review your rights within both national and European contexts. While our decisions are not immediately binding, online platforms are required to collaborate with us and assess whether there are grounds for not implementing our decision. Additionally, our decision provides guidance on your next steps if the platform does not comply.

Is pursuing legal action worthwhile? Or would filing a complaint with the relevant authority be a better option?

Furthermore, our decisions are analyzed statistically – without referencing personal data – allowing for a comparative analysis of content moderation practices across online platforms. You can find more about your benefits here.

We are independent and funded through fees paid by online platforms. We are allowed to charge the platforms reasonable costs for the procedures, which are capped in amount and continuously reviewed by the relevant authority. More on this in our fee schedule.

User Rights was founded by Prof. Dr. Stephan Breidenbach, Dr. Niklas Eder, and Raphael Kneer. Learn more about the founders here: About Us

More FAQs

In these cases, we can make decisions:

Our certification covers most categories of the terms of service (ToS) of respective social media platforms as well as specific areas of German law (StGB). A list of additional dispute settlement bodies can be found on the European Commission’s website.

Insult Incitement of Hatred Doxing Sexual Harassment Stalking Discrimination Hate Speech Defamation Crimes Against Public Order

In these cases, we make decisions:

The platform has, for example, removed one of your posts, suspended your account, or algorithmically restricted your content. We assess whether this action was justified and provide a reasoned decision.

You reported content, but the platform decided not to remove it? We will check if the platform should have taken action.

Why Choose User Rights?

Our mediators are certified legal professionals who operate independently and impartially. They have no ties to platforms, affected individuals, or organizations, ensuring unbiased evaluations.

Frequently Asked Questions: