Your Complaint. Our Process.
From the moment you file your complaint to the independent decision: We guide you through a transparent, structured, and fully digital process.
We'll keep you informed about every step of the process via email—from the receipt of your complaint, through the admissibility review, the receipt of the online platform's response, the assignment of the case to a decision-maker, and finally, the decision.
What decisions do we review?
Not every complaint concerns a deleted post or a suspended account. A platform’s decision not to remove reported content can also be the subject of a dispute resolution process. The demonetization of accounts is also open to challenge.
Generally speaking, we distinguish between two scenarios: actions taken by a platform against its own content or a user’s accounts, and decisions not to remove content that a user has reported to a platform.
The platform has taken action against you.
Has your account been suspended, a post deleted, your reach limited, or your ability to monetize restricted?
We verify whether the moderation decision is based on a sufficient legal or contractual basis and is justified in the specific case.
The platform did not take any action after you reported it.
Have you reported content that may be illegal, but the platform has decided not to remove it or restrict it in any other way?
Such decisions can also be reviewed within the scope of our authority. We investigate whether the platform should have taken action based on applicable laws or its terms of service.
Which platforms are we responsible for?
Platform Control handles complaints regarding moderation decisions made by numerous major online platforms. Our scope of responsibility currently includes, in particular, the following services:
In order for a complaint to be processed, the contested decision must fall within our substantive jurisdiction pursuant to Article 21 of the DSA and our Rules of Procedure. Not every decision made by a designated agency is automatically subject to an admissible dispute resolution procedure.
Here's how the process works.
Our process is designed to handle disputes as efficiently, independently, and transparently as possible. We'll keep you informed of the key steps via email.
First, submit your complaint using our online form. It usually takes less than five minutes to fill out.
The form will guide you step by step through the required information. In particular, we need details about the online platform in question, the moderation decision being challenged, and the reasons why you believe it is unjustified.
If available, you can also submit notifications from the platform, moderation IDs, screenshots, or other relevant documentation.
After submitting the form, you will receive a confirmation of receipt via email.
Important: If you would like to have multiple unrelated moderation decisions reviewed, we ask that you submit a separate appeal for each decision.
Once we receive your complaint, our legal team will first review whether the requirements for initiating a dispute resolution process have been met.
In particular, we examine:
- Whether the complaint concerns a moderation decision that, in principle, may be reviewed under Art. 21 of the DSA.
- Whether the complaint falls within our scope of responsibility and authority.
- Whether the necessary information to identify the moderation decision is available.
- Whether the other requirements for admissibility under our Rules of Procedure have been met.
If any information is missing, we will contact you by email and ask you to provide the missing information, if necessary. Please make any additions only using our amendment form, which we have linked in the relevant email. You can find the amendment form here: https://platform-control.com/nutzer-nachtrag/. Be sure to always enter the correct reference number.
If your complaint appears to be admissible following this initial review, we will notify the online platform in question and give it an opportunity to respond.
Please note: This initial review is preliminary. Additional grounds for inadmissibility may also arise from the platform's response or the subsequent proceedings.
The online platform in question will be given the opportunity to respond to your complaint and explain the decision in question. As soon as we receive their response and have reviewed it in relation to your complaint, we will notify you via email.
Our independent legal case reviewers then review the information, documents, and statements provided.
The examination will focus in particular on:
- The specific facts of the case and the reasons for the moderator's decision.
- The relevant provisions of the Digital Services Act and, where applicable, national law.
- The platform's applicable Terms of Use and moderation guidelines.
- The question of whether the decision is justified and proportionate in this specific case.
If you file a complaint regarding the removal or restriction of your own content, we will review whether the action was justified.
In cases of complaints regarding the failure to remove reported content, we investigate whether the platform should have taken action based on legal or contractual requirements.
Our case adjudicators are independent and impartial. Each of our case adjudicators has successfully completed a law degree. Decisions are made based on an independent legal assessment of each case.
Once the legal review is complete, our case reviewers will issue a reasoned decision.
In it, we explain whether, based on our legal assessment, the contested moderation decision was justified or not. Our goal is to ensure that this decision meets the standards of the rule of law. In doing so, we follow the approach a competent civil court would take in justifying its ruling.
Both you and the online platform in question will receive the decision electronically via email
A decision by an out-of-court dispute resolution body under Article 21 of the DSA is not legally binding. Therefore, the platform is not obligated to reverse the contested measure solely on the basis of our decision.
However, the decision allows for an independent legal assessment of the dispute and may help bring about an out-of-court resolution.
Regardless of the dispute resolution procedure, you generally retain the right to seek legal recourse before the competent courts.
The process with Platform Control is free of charge for you as a user.
Ready to file your complaint?
Do you disagree with a moderator's decision? Start the independent review by Platform Control now.
Filling out our online form usually takes less than five minutes.
File a complaint now →Frequently Asked Questions
Would you like to know whether your complaint is admissible, what costs are involved, or how our process works? Here, we answer the most important questions about out-of-court dispute resolution at Platform Control.
If you're unsure whether your complaint is admissible, we recommend that you first submit it using our online form. It usually takes less than five minutes to fill out, and there is no initial cost.
Once we receive your complaint, we will generally review it within seven days to determine whether the requirements for a dispute resolution process have been met.
Please note that this is initially a preliminary review of admissibility. Additional grounds for inadmissibility may arise during the course of the proceedings, for example, based on additional information provided by the online platform in question.
Whether, for example, a moderation decision made some time ago can still be reviewed depends on the specific circumstances and our rules of procedure.
We therefore ask that you refrain from submitting separate preliminary inquiries regarding admissibility. The necessary review will be conducted as part of the filed appeal proceedings.
Yes. The complaint process with Platform Control is free of charge for users. The costs of out-of-court dispute resolution are borne by the online platforms involved.
Article 21 of the DSA provides for an exception only under certain conditions, in particular when a user is acting in a clearly malicious manner.
Such an exception might apply, for example, in the case of a deliberate, abusive, and large-scale filing of complaints. In our practice to date, we have never had to make use of this exception.
If you wish to have a moderation decision reviewed in good faith, you therefore do not need to worry about any procedural fees.
As a general rule, please file a separate complaint for each independent moderation decision.
This applies, for example, when multiple Google Maps reviews have been removed, various Instagram comments have been affected, or different user accounts have been suspended.
It is especially important to submit them separately if you have different moderation IDs for the individual decisions.
Processing the complaints separately allows us and the relevant online platform to clearly identify the subject of each complaint and review it from a legal perspective.
That depends on how the other proceeding was concluded or whether it is still pending.
If another dispute resolution body has refused to handle your case—for example, due to a lack of jurisdiction—or if you have withdrawn your complaint there, it may still be possible to file a complaint with Platform Control.
If, however, the same matter in dispute has already been decided on its merits by another dispute resolution body, a new review is generally precluded.
The same generally applies if another dispute resolution proceeding concerning the same matter is still pending.
Please provide complete details regarding any previous or ongoing proceedings in the complaint form.
We strive to process complaints as quickly as possible. The actual duration of the process depends, in particular, on the complexity of the case and the statements required.
According to Article 21 of the DSA, the dispute resolution body shall, as a general rule, notify the parties of its decision within 90 calendar days of receiving the complaint.
In particularly complex cases, this deadline may be extended to a total of up to 180 calendar days.
We will keep you informed of any significant developments in the proceedings via email.
Yes. Platform Control is an out-of-court dispute resolution body certified under Article 21 of the DSA.
Our case adjudicators are independent and impartial in their work. They evaluate disputes based on the facts of the case, applicable laws, and the applicable Terms of Use.
The fact that the procedural fees are generally borne by the online platforms has no bearing on the substance of our decisions.
We do not represent the interests of either the platform or the complainant, but rather conduct an independent legal assessment.
No. Decisions made by an out-of-court dispute resolution body under Article 21 of the DSA are not legally binding. Such decisions cannot be enforced against platforms through government coercive measures.
In particular, this means that an online platform is not legally obligated to reverse a moderation action that has been challenged solely on the basis of our decision.
However, our decisions include an independent legal assessment of the dispute. They may prompt a platform to reconsider its original decision or amend it accordingly.
Regardless of this, the right to seek legal recourse before the competent courts remains open in principle.
Any questions?
Would you like to have a moderation decision reviewed? Simply submit your complaint online.