Post by Appeals Centre

Appeals Centre Europe is pleased to announce the publication of a joint paper we co-led on that sets out what is required to create a functioning, user-friendly and sustainable out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) process for social media users, platforms and ODS bodies alike. Today, the ODS Network, comprising ten certified ODS bodies from across the EU, publishes its “Best Practices for a functioning, user-friendly and sustainable ODS Sector” paper. ODS bodies are calling for regulatory guidance in setting best practices for the sector and to make the ODS process, set out under Article 21 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), work efficiently and meaningfully. To achieve this, we believe the following is required: ▶️ User awareness: Users must be made aware of their rights and how to use them, including information that social media share with users on their platforms - known as “signposting”. ▶️Dispute information: ODS bodies need to ensure they collect the necessary information from users to ensure the dispute is eligible and the platform can identify the content or decision in question. ▶️Admissibility checks: Guidance is needed on the scope of admissible disputes to remove uncertainty for users, platforms and ODS bodies on what can be raised as a dispute. ▶️Content sharing by platforms: Platforms must share the original complete content needed by the ODS body to undertake an independent review of the decision. ▶️Case review and ODS decision: ODS bodies should be able to perform independent case review based on the content shared. ODS bodies should also issue procedural decisions as necessary, while aiming to greatly reduce their present share in overall decisions. ▶️Implementation: Platforms should engage in good faith with decisions of ODS bodies and communicate the final outcome to the user and ODS body.    With special thanks to our co-lead in drafting the paper User Rights and our Network colleagues from ADROIT, Impress Dispute Resolutions, Central European Appeals Hub (CEAH), ADR Center, ADR point, OPVT, Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR) and Platform Control for the excellent collaboration. #AppealsCentreEurope #ACE #ODSNetwork #DSA #DigitalServicesAct