Increase in complaints to EU social media appeals body

Dublin-based Appeals Centre Europe has recorded a significant surge in user complaints since its inception in November 2024, processing over 30,000 disputes related to social media platforms' content moderation and account management. The center, which handles appeals from users across the EU, is designed to address issues such as account suspensions and the removal of content.

Its latest transparency report reveals a substantial increase in eligible disputes, with over 12,000 cases reviewed between April 2025 and March 2026. The most common grievances involved hate speech, account suspensions, adult nudity, misinformation, and fraud. The volume of eligible disputes in March 2026 was nine times higher than in April 2025, indicating a growing reliance on the center by users seeking recourse.

During the reporting period, the Appeals Centre issued decisions on more than 10,000 disputes. Critically, in nearly 3,000 cases where content was reviewed, the center found itself disagreeing with the platforms' initial assessments 59% of the time. This figure highlights a significant divergence between the center's interpretation of platform rules and the platforms' own enforcement.

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Social media platforms need to change this by sending us the content and allowing users to challenge account suspensions under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Furthermore, the center reported a concerning trend regarding account suspensions. Despite receiving over 5,000 eligible disputes challenging these suspensions, decisions were only made after content review in fewer than 150 cases by March 2026. For the vast majority, the center issued "default decisions" in the user's favor due to a lack of content submission from the platforms. The center urged platforms to comply with the EU's Digital Services Act by providing content for review.

The effectiveness of the Appeals Centre's decisions is limited, as they are not legally binding on platforms. The center noted that only a "handful of cases" saw platforms implement its decisions regarding the removal of harmful content. In most instances, platforms either rejected the center's findings or failed to respond, resulting in the continued presence of violating content online and ongoing harm to affected individuals and communities. The center also faces challenges in obtaining consistent data on decision implementation, despite ongoing efforts to improve transparency for users.

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This means that, in the vast majority of these cases, the violating content remains online, causing continued harm to the affected people and communities.