Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints

You reported a hate comment, and the platform is not responding to your report? Or it only replies: “No violation of our guidelines”? You do not have to accept that. The Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU law on digital services, gives you several ways to complain: the platform's internal complaint system, out-of-court dispute settlement and a complaint to Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). This guide shows which route fits when.

What must a platform do after a report?

Under Art. 16 DSA, the following applies to reports of illegal content:

• If you gave an email address, the platform must confirm receipt without undue delay.
• It must process the report in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner.
• It must tell you its decision without undue delay and point out how you can challenge it.
• If it uses automated systems for this, it must say so.

The DSA sets no fixed deadline in hours. For private chats in messengers such as WhatsApp, the rules for online platforms mostly do not apply, because content there is not distributed publicly.

Before you complain: check your evidence and your report

• Secure the content: a screenshot with link, profile, date and context. How that works is explained in How to Secure Evidence of Online Hate.
• Document your report: date, time, report number, confirmation of receipt and the platform's reply. Take screenshots of them.
• Use the right reporting route: many platforms distinguish between breaches of their own rules and illegal content. For possible criminal offences, choose the route for illegal content if there is one.
• Give reasons: one or two sentences on why the content is illegal. Without reasons, the platform has a lot of leeway.

Platform not responding: which route fits?

It depends on what has happened:

• The platform has decided, but you disagree: internal complaint, then out-of-court dispute settlement.
• The platform does not respond at all, confirms nothing or offers no reporting route: complaint to the Bundesnetzagentur.
• You are being threatened or feel in danger: do not wait for the platform. Call 110, the police emergency number in Germany, or file a criminal complaint.

Step 1: Internal complaint to the platform

If the platform rejects your report, you can lodge a complaint with it (Art. 20 DSA). This expressly also applies to people who reported content.

• The complaint can be made electronically and free of charge.
• You have at least six months, counted from the day you were informed of the decision.
• The platform must decide promptly, diligently and without arbitrariness. If your complaint shows the first decision was wrong, it must reverse it without undue delay.
• The decision may not be made by automated means alone. Qualified staff must be involved.
• The platform must send you a reasoned decision and point out the option of out-of-court dispute settlement.

You usually find the complaint route in the reply to your report or in the app's help section. Write briefly why you think the decision is wrong, and include the link to the content again.

Step 2: Out-of-court dispute settlement

If the internal complaint achieved nothing, you can turn to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body (Art. 21 DSA). These are independent bodies approved by a supervisory authority.

• Costs: for you, the procedure is free of charge or costs only a nominal fee. If you win, the platform bears all of the body's fees and reimburses your other reasonable expenses. If the platform wins, you generally do not have to reimburse its costs, unless you clearly acted in bad faith.
• Effect: the decision is not binding. But the platform must engage in good faith. The route to court remains open to you.
• Which body: one body certified in Germany is User Rights (Berlin). Bodies certified in other EU countries, such as the Appeals Centre Europe, are on a list kept by the European Commission. Check on the body's website whether it covers your platform and your issue.

Step 3: Complaint to the Bundesnetzagentur

In Germany, the Bundesnetzagentur oversees, as Digital Services Coordinator (DSC), whether platforms comply with the DSA. You can complain there if you suspect a breach of the DSA (Art. 53 DSA), for example if

• there is no working reporting route,
• the platform does not respond to your report at all,
• it does not remove illegal content despite a report,
• it offers no way to challenge its decision.

You submit the complaint via an online form. All the details are on the Bundesnetzagentur page on reporting DSA breaches (in German).

The limits matter: the Bundesnetzagentur does not delete content and cannot order its deletion. It does not settle disputes between you and the platform. It checks whether the platform meets its obligations. If the provider is based in another EU country, it forwards the complaint to the authority there. Communication with you continues through the Bundesnetzagentur. For criminal content, it refers you to the police.

Trusted flaggers: reporting through an organisation

The Bundesnetzagentur approves organisations as trusted flaggers (Art. 22 DSA). Platforms must process their reports as a priority. Approved organisations include the reporting point REspect! of the Jugendstiftung Baden-Württemberg and, since June 2025, HateAid. Here too, the platform ultimately decides whether content is removed.

When it is about more than removal

The DSA is aimed at platforms. It punishes nobody and does not stop the person behind the content from carrying on with a new account. For that you need criminal or civil law. How to file a report online is explained in Report a Crime to the Police Online in Germany. An overview of all platform duties is in Digital Services Act: What Platforms Must Do About Online Hate.

If you suffer damage because a platform breached the DSA, you can claim compensation under Art. 54 DSA. Whether that comes into question in your case can be assessed by a law firm.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a platform take to deal with my report?

The DSA sets no fixed deadline but requires timely processing. If there is still no response after a longer period, you can complain to the Bundesnetzagentur. Document the date and report number for this.

Does out-of-court dispute settlement cost anything?

For you, it is free of charge or costs only a nominal fee. If you win, the platform bears the fees. The body must tell you the costs before the procedure starts.

Can the Bundesnetzagentur have a comment deleted?

No. It checks whether the platform complies with its DSA obligations but does not decide on individual content. For removal, the platform, dispute settlement and the courts remain.

Do I have to use the internal complaint first?

Not necessarily. You can also turn directly to a dispute settlement body or a court. But the internal complaint is free and often the fastest route.

Report your case

If the platform does not help and you want to take action against the person behind the content, you can report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. Keep your screenshots, links and the platform's replies ready.