Dispute Settlement Body for Social Media Platforms

In these cases, we make decisions:

The platform has 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 and Co-CEO of User Rights

More about User Rights

Frequently Asked Questions:

Reported content or account kept online
Account suspension or deactivation
Removal or modification of content (obscuring, blurring, or adding labels or warnings)
Limitations on the visibility and reach of an account or content
Restrictions on monetisation and advertising
Temporary restrictions on account functionalities (content creation, posting links, live streaming, etc.)

A screenshot of the platform’s notification It must clearly show the measure taken (e.g., content removed, account suspended), the date, and the reason given. Please provide only one content-moderation notification per complaint.
If the complaint concerns content or an account you reported, please include a screenshot of the specific content or account.
If you claim that an account is impersonating you, please provide a document that allows us to verify your identity.

These documents, together with your explanation and contextual information, serve as the evidence our legal reviewers will consider (alongside the platform’s submission) to issue a non-binding decision.

Account compromise due to hacking If someone hacks your account, it’s a security issue, not a moderation issue. User Rights can only help you with moderation issues on social-media platforms.
Lost password If you forget your password, it’s a login problem, not a moderation issue.
Restriction on direct messages
Questionable content via direct message e.g., offensive comments or inappropriate images.
Restriction based on automated behaviour e.g., spamming.
Notification older than six months We cannot process your complaint if you received the notification from the platform more than six months ago.
Not located or without an address in the EU We can only process complaints from users who are located in, or have a registered address within, the European Union.
Platform’s rules or national laws not (yet) covered You can find a current overview of the community standards and legal provisions that User Rights can review here.
Platform not (yet) covered We currently review cases involving Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. If your case concerns another platform (e.g., YouTube), it’s currently out of scope.
Language not (yet) covered The restricted or reported content must be in English, German, French, or Italian.

User Rights does not charge any fees to individuals or organisations who bring a dispute.

Our dispute-settlement procedure is free of charge for users and organisations. The costs are covered by the social-media or online platform involved in the dispute.

We apply a graduated fee structure internally, based on the complexity of the case. These fees are paid by the social media platform – not by you.

You will receive email updates at each step of the process.

Our team carefully reviews all submitted documents. If your case falls outside our certification scope, we will inform you by email and close your case. If any information is missing, we will contact you by email so that you can provide the required information.
The platform has 7 days to submit additional information or to reverse its content moderation decision. This period may be extended to 21 days. If the platform does not respond within the given timeframe, User Rights will continue the review based on the information you provided and may rule in your favour.
Our legal experts issue a non-binding decision within 90 days of your case submission. In particularly complex cases, this period may be extended to 180 days. The decision will be sent to both you and the platform, which then decides whether to implement it.

Maybe.

Even if our decision is in your favour, we cannot guarantee that the platform will restore your content or account - the final decision rests with the platform.

What you can be sure of is that our team of reviewers and legal experts carefully consider both your arguments and those of the platform before issuing a fair and independent decision.

Maybe.

Even if our decision supports removal, we cannot guarantee that the platform will take the content or account down - the final decision rests with the platform.

What you can be sure of is that our team of reviewers and legal experts carefully assesses both your arguments and those of the platform before issuing a fair and independent decision.

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.

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 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.