Facebook

14 September 2026 Site Author

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Facebook has more than 260 million active monthly users in the EU. Every day these users have content removed or their account suspended, or see harmful content that is left up.
We have been accepting disputes from Facebook since November 2024.
In our recent Transparency Report, we overturned Facebook’s decisions 54% of the time, where we reviewed the content.
The top 3 policy areas we received disputes about were:
- Hate Speech and Hateful Policies
- Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity
- Misinformation

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What Policies Do We Cover?

Some of the policies we cover include:

Fraud and Scams
Hate Speech and Hateful Policies
Restricted Goods and Services
Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity
Harassment and Bullying
Misinformation

You can view all of the policies we cover in our Rules of Procedure, and you can view all of Facebook’s content policies in their community standards.

Remember! We cannot accept disputes in some areas, including:

Impersonation
Hacked accounts
Copyright
Spam decisions related to technical or automated systems
Child Sexually Explicit Material

What do I need to know before I submit a Facebook dispute?

You can dispute Facebook’s decision if the platform has:

Suspended or restricted an account that I want restored
Removed or restricted content that I want restored
Removed a Page or Group that I want restored
Left up content that I want removed

Facebook suspended or restricted an account that I want restored

Before you submit your dispute, it would be helpful to gather the following information:

Your Facebook reference number. If you do not have one, you can continue the process without it.
The date that Facebook suspended / restricted your account.
The policy that Facebook said your account was violating. When you log into your account, you should see the message “We suspended your account.” If you scroll down, the text under the “Why this happened” heading should mention the Community Standard your account supposedly violated. Please provide this Community Standard. If you can’t find this message, the platform may have sent you an email that includes the Community Standard which led to your account being suspended.

Facebook removed or restricted content that I want restored

Before you submit your dispute, it would be helpful to gather the following information:

Your Facebook reference number. If you do not have one, you can continue the process without it.
The date that Facebook removed or restricted the content
The type of content that led to your account being suspended or restricted
The policy that Facebook said your content was violating. When Facebook removes your content, they should send you a message telling you which Community Standard your content violated. You can find this in your notifications (under the bell icon), Profile Status or Account Status.

Facebook removed a Page or Group that I want restored

Before you submit your dispute, it would be helpful to gather the following information:

Your Facebook reference number. If you do not have one, you will need to provide the email address associated with the Facebook account, the name of the Page or Group and a brief description of the Page or Group.
The date that Facebook removed the Page or Group.
The policy that Facebook said your account was violating.When you log into your account, you should see the message “We suspended your account.” If you scroll down, the text under the “Why this happened” heading should mention the Community Standard your account supposedly violated. Please provide this Community Standard.If you can’t find this message, the platform may have sent you an email that includes the Community Standard which led to your account being suspended.

Facebook left up content that I want removed

Before you submit your dispute, it would be helpful to gather the following information:

Link to your Facebook profile
Link to the content you reported
The time and date you reported the content to Facebook
Which policy you believe the content violated

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about submitting a Facebook dispute

View all FAQs

How do I get a Facebook reference number?

1. Find the message Facebook sent you when they removed the account or the content.

Click the bell icon to show your notifications.
Select the message about the content removal. Click on the content decision.
Or go to Profile Status or Account Status and click on the content decision.

2. When you click on the content decision, a screen entitled “Details” should appear.

Click “Information for people in the EU”, then “Get information”, “Continue,” and “Create reference number.”

3. If you still can’t find your Facebook reference number:

Click on this link, log into your Facebook account and fill out the form.
Click “Create reference number”.

Can I submit a dispute without a Facebook reference number?

Yes, you can click “no” in the “do you have a Facebook reference number?” dropdown and provide some extra information depending on the type of dispute, including:

Link to your Facebook profile.
When did Facebook take action on the content / account or when did you report the content to the platform?
Briefly describe the content / Page or Group.
Please provide the email address associated with your Facebook account.
What is the name of the Page or Group.

How do I find the link to the content I reported?

To find the URL of the content you reported:

App: click on “Share” in the bottom-right of the content. Click “copy link” at the bottom of the screen. For comments, please provide the URL of the content which the comment replied to.
Desktop: click on the time and date in the top-left of the content. Then copy the URL from your browser. For comments, click on the date/time it was posted (below the comment and to the left). Then copy the URL from your browser.

How do I find a link to my Facebook profile?

App: To open your Profile page, click on “Menu” at the bottom-right of the screen, then click on your name.

Click the three dots to the right of “Edit profile”.

At the bottom of the menu, click “copy profile link”.

Desktop: Open your Profile page by clicking on your name in the top-left of the screen. Then copy the link at the top of your Profile page.

Do you handle disputes about Facebook Marketplace?

Yes, we do. We review cases involving restricted or removed accounts, restricted or removed content, and reported content that remains visible.

What should I include in the text box “Why are you disputing the platform’s decision?”

Please outline why you disagree with the platform’s decision within the 3,500 character limit. To help the Appeals Centre review your case, include:

Context: The circumstances in which the content was posted.
Reach: The potential audience or impact of the post.
Nuance: Any linguistic, cultural, or political details relevant to the post.

You can copy, paste and adapt one of these templates:

YouTube removed/restricted my channel on [DATE], because it violated [POLICY] policy. I believe they made a mistake because [EXPLANATION].

YouTube removed/restricted content on [DATE], because it violated [POLICY] policy. I believe they made a mistake because [EXPLANATION].

YouTube kept up content that I believe violates their [POLICY] policy. I believe they made a mistake because [EXPLANATION].

User Support Guide

Better understand your rights under the Digital Services Act.

Read our Guide

Featured Case Study: Restored Facebook Group

In April 2025, a user from Cyprus submitted a dispute about a Facebook group that had been suspended for supposedly violating Meta’s rules on Restricted Goods and Services. After reviewing content from the group which had been removed, we found that it should have been covered by an exception allowing people to discuss the medical merits of prescription drugs. We communicated our decision to Facebook who then restored the group in question.

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