Summary: Contents & Main Points of this Chapter

• Affected users can use complaint procedures to appeal removal orders (and, if necessary and beyond the scope of the TCO, other proactive moderation measures).
• Complaint procedures are important as a control and feedback mechanism, from the perspectives of users, companies, and the law.
• HSPs “shall establish effective and accessible” complaint mechanisms (TCO Regulation, Art. 10.1).
• According to the TCO Regulation, complaint systems must meet certain content and technical requirements.
• A complaint procedure can result in two different outcomes, namely (1) the complaint is upheld because the content is found to have been erroneously blocked, or (2) the complaint is dismissed because the content is found to have been blocked justifiably.
• Depending on the outcome of the complaint process, the content may be subject to other measures.
• This chapter additionally provides guidance on designing and implementing a HSP-specific complaint procedure

Complaint procedures allow users to appeal content removals by communicating with the platform and are the first step towards (legally) challenging a removal order. You can read more about the dispute process in chapter 2.