Digital Services Act – Your Right to Complain

From 17 February 2024, Coimisiún na Meán can receive complaints from users of online services who believe the provider of an online service has not complied with its obligations under the EU Digital Service Act (DSA).

It should be noted that a significant number of the new obligations under the DSA relate to how providers of an online service deal with illegal content. There are certain things providers of an online service need to do about illegal content when it is notified to them.

While it is within Coimisiún na Meán’s remit to assess if providers of an online service are doing what they are obliged to do under the DSA in relation to illegal content, it is not part of Coimisiún na Meán’s remit to carry out a content moderation role, to act as an appeal body from decisions of providers of online services in relation to illegal content, or to act as a judge in disputes between different parties or different users about illegal content.

It is only through Coimisiún na Meán’s role of regulating and supervising providers of an online service that Coimisiún na Meán gets involved in decisions about illegal content, and the role of Coimisiún na Meán is limited to making sure providers of an online service meet their obligations in relation to this.

In some cases, the role of Coimisiún na Meán means that it needs to decide if the service provider was diligent in reaching its decision about notified illegal content and this may involve some consideration by Coimisiún na Meán of the notified illegal content.

Below are some common questions and answers to guide you through what you can complain about, and the complaints process. If your questions are not answered here, you can contact the Contact Centre: + 353 1 963 7755 | usersupport@cnam.ie.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website does not constitute legal advice and is intended for general informational purposes only. The information provided is not exhaustive, or a substitute for professional advice.

The Right to Complain under the Digital Services Act

What is the right to lodge a complaint under the Digital Services Act?

Who can make a complaint?

Which online services can I complain about?

Reporting illegal content

What makes content illegal?

Content is illegal if it is in breach of the law of Ireland or another EU Member State, or of EU law.

There are a number of criminal offences under Irish law that may be applicable to the types of online content that often cause concern. We have summarised some of the applicable laws in the table below.

If the content is …	It may be illegal under …
A credible threat of violence	Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997
Part of a campaign of harassment (such as cyberbullying)	Section 10 of Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997
A threatening or grossly offensive communication	Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020
Threatening, abusive or insulting and likely to stir up hatred against a group of people on account of their race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation	Section 2 of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989
An unsolicited image of someone’s genitals that causes distress, fear or alarm	Section 45 (1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017
Offensive conduct of a sexual nature	Section 45 (3) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017
An intimate image shared without consent	Section 3 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020
Encouragement of a person to attempt suicide or information that would help them do so	Section 2(2) of the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993
Child sex abuse material or an advertisement for child sex abuse material	Section 5(1) of the Child Trafficking & Pornography Act 1998
Encouragement of terrorist activity or a threat to commit an act of terrorism	Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005

(The table is a high-level summary. It does not constitute legal advice. Nor does it represent the position that Coimisiún na Meán may take in the context of any regulatory proceeding in which the meaning of the provisions concerned is in issue.)

The examples of potentially illegal content contained is this table are not exhaustive. Further examples of possibly illegal content include promotion of scams or unsafe or illegal products, naming witnesses or defendants in certain types of sensitive legal proceedings, copyright infringement, unlawful disclosure of personal data, and information disclosed in breach of a court order.

I want to report illegal content

What can you expect from a hosting service after you have reported illegal content?

What should I do if I've seen content that I believe is a threat to the life or safety of a person or group of people?

I am having difficulty notifying a hosting service provider of illegal content

I reported illegal content and it was not taken down

Making a complaint about a platform’s decision on illegal content

I am not satisfied with a platform’s decision on illegal content and I want to complain

How will a platform process my complaint about its decision on illegal content?

I am not satisfied with a platform’s decision about my complaint

Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement (ODS) Bodies

Users of online platforms are entitled to select a certified ODS Body in order to resolve a dispute relating to a decision of the provider of the online platform. This includes complaints which have not been resolved through the internal complaints-handling system of the online platform’s provider.

The ODS Body does not have the power to impose a binding settlement of the dispute onto the user or the providers of the online platforms.

Certified ODS Bodies are required to make their decisions available to the user and the provider of the online platform within a reasonable period of time and no later than 90 days after the receipt of the complaint. In the case of highly complex disputes, the certified ODS Body may extend the 90-day period for an additional 90 days.

If the ODS Body decides the dispute in favour of the user, the provider of the online platform ir required to bear all the fees charged by the ODS Body and to reimburse that recipient for any other reasonable expenses that it has paid in relation to the dispute settlement.

If the ODS Body decides the dispute in favour of the provider of the online platform, the user is not be required to reimburse any fees or other expenses that the provider of the online platform paid in relation to the dispute settlement, unless the ODS Body finds that that user manifestly acted in bad faith.

The fees charged by the ODS Body to the providers of online platforms for the dispute settlement must be reasonable and must not exceed the costs incurred by the body. For users, the dispute settlement shall be available free of charge or at a nominal fee.

Certified ODS Bodies are required to make the fees, or the mechanisms used to determine the fees, known to users and to the provider of the online platform concerned, before engaging in the dispute settlement.

Providers of online platforms must ensure that their online interface contains information about the possibility for users to have access to a certified ODS Body and that that information is easily accessible, clear and user-friendly. Providers of online platforms may refuse to engage with such out-of-court dispute settlement body if a dispute has already been resolved concerning the same information and the same grounds of alleged illegality or incompatibility of content.

Certified Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Bodies

Restrictions on content/user accounts

My content has been restricted or removed and I do not know why

My user account was suspended/terminated or payments to me have been suspended/terminated/restricted and I do not know why

Making a complaint about a platform restricting content/user accounts

I am not satisfied with a platform’s decision to restrict/remove my content or suspend/terminate my account or payments to me

How will a platform process my complaint about its decision to restrict my content/user account?

I am not satisfied with a platform’s decision about my complaint

Online trading

If you make a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán in relation to online trading, please be advised that your complaint may be transmitted to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) as it is the competent authority. Coimisiún na Meán will inform you if your complaint has been transmitted to the CCPC.

I am concerned about the legitimacy of an online trader/I am not able to contact an online trader

I am an online trader and I do not know why I have been suspended from trading on a platform

I am an online trader and I want to complain about being suspended/not being allowed to trade on a platform

I believe an illegal product/service is being traded on a platform

How will a platform process my report of an illegal product/service being traded?

Advertising, online interfaces and recommender systems

I am concerned about why an advertisement is being shown to me

I am concerned about an advertisement being shown to my child

I am not able to access information about advertisements on a Very Large Online Platform/Very Large Online Search Engine

I am seeing/being recommended unwanted content on the platform

It was difficult to make the choice I wanted using the platform’s interface

Terms and Conditions and suspending users

How do I know if I have breached any of the online service’s rules/terms and conditions?

The terms and conditions of the online service are difficult to understand

I have been suspended from a platform for breaching its terms and conditions

I have been suspended from a platform for making complaints/reporting content

I have been suspended from a platform because of content I posted

Contacting an online service provider

How do I contact the service provider?

Making a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán

When can I make a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán?

How can I make a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán?

What information do I need to have to make a complaint to Coimisiún na Meán?

What will happen after my complaint has been lodged?

How does Coimisiún na Meán assess my complaint?

What decisions can Coimisiún na Meán make in relation to my complaint?

How do I contact Coimisiún na Meán if I need further information about my complaint?

What do I do if I am not satisfied with Coimisiún na Meán’s decision on my complaint?

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