An independent committee will resolve disputes between EU users and social media operators in the future.
The Dublin-based Appeals Center Europe was established as an out-of-court arbitration body under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) and will begin operations before the end of the year, according to Reuters. As “Euronews” reports, the Appeals Center Europe is intended to relieve the burden on supervisory authorities by handling appeals against policy violations on social media.
The committee will initially decide cases relating to Facebook, TikTok and YouTube and then include other social media platforms over time. Social media users in the European Union should be able to submit complaints about content moderation by the platforms to the new body, according to “Reuters”.
Processing within 90 days
According to “Euronews”, this will then check whether the platforms’ decisions comply with their content guidelines and also comply with human rights principles. The cases will then be processed within 90 days and a final decision will be made as to whether the platforms' decisions comply with their content guidelines.
Employees from all over the EU
Thomas Hughes will become the first CEO of the Appeals Center, according to Reuters. He emphasized: “We want to give users the opportunity to refer disputes to a body that is independent of governments and companies and ensures that platforms' content policies are applied fairly and impartially.” Hughes also said, according to AP, that The center will recruit staff from across the EU to handle up to tens of thousands of cases annually. Staff will therefore have expertise in specific regions, languages and policy areas.
Financing through fees
According to “Euronews,” the Appeals Center Europe is funded through fees that social media companies have to pay for each case. Users who file a dispute only pay a small fee, which is refunded if the center's decision is in their favor. However, according to the Reuters report, the panel cannot make binding decisions and the online platforms have the option to refuse to cooperate under the DSA's rules.
