about us

Independent Review
for Decisions
on Social Media

We provide expert, objective case reviews to help you challenge platform decisions that impact your digital rights.

Why We Exist

Social Media decisions can feel one-sided and final. We want to change that. Our purpose is simple: to give users an independent and simple way to challenge platforms’ decisions about content that matters to them.

What we Believe

Social Media users deserve real answers and fair outcomes. Everyone should have access to recourse when their rights are at stake.

How We Work

Every appeal is reviewed by trained human experts, not algorithms. Our decisions are based on platform policies as informed by human rights. We are independent of social media platforms and governments. You can appeal a decision in just 4 easy steps.

“We want users to have the choice to raise a dispute to a body that is independent from governments and companies, and focused on ensuring platforms’ content policies are fairly and impartially applied.”

Thomas Hughes

Appeals Centre Europe CEO

About the Digital
Services Act (DSA)

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a landmark EU law designed to give people more control and protection online. It applies to major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google Maps and Threads.

For the first time, the DSA gives everyone in the EU the right to challenge content moderation decisions in a simple, free and timely manner, such as

Content removals
Account suspensions
No action after harmful, policy-violating content is reported

Before the DSA, the only options were to ask the platform to change its mind or spend substantial time and money to take them to court. Now, you have the right to take your case to an independent out-of-court body. That’s where Appeals Centre Europe comes in.

Appeals Centre Europe has been certified by the media regulator Coimisiún na Meán to cover all very large social media platforms, in almost all languages spoken in the EU and all EU countries as an out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) body under the DSA.

Our story so far

We started as a team of experts who believed social media users deserve better. Appeals Centre Europe was born from the idea that fairness and accountability should apply online too.

Our journey began with a one-time grant from the Oversight Board Trust to help us start operations.

Today, we’re proud to be one of the first certified out-of-court settlement bodies under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), helping people challenge unfair social media decisions – clearly, independently and free of charge to users.

We live by these principles every day: