If you live in the EU, and you would like to challenge our moderation decision, you may be able to ask an independent out-of-court dispute settlement body to review the decision under Article 21 of the EU Digital Services Act. An out-of-court dispute settlement body is an independent organisation certified under the Digital Services Act to review certain content moderation disputes. You can find a list of the certified bodies here.
Out-of-court dispute settlement is separate from Snap’s internal appeal process. You must choose an out-of-court dispute settlement body and submit your dispute there directly. You can choose any body that has been certified under Article 21 of the Digital Services Act, as long as that body’s certified scope covers your dispute and it can handle the language of your complaint.
Click to jump to a section:
- Who may be eligible to use the out-of-court dispute settlement process?
- What types of Snapchat decisions are eligible for the Article 21 DSA process?
- What types of content are not eligible?
- What to expect from the process
Who may be eligible to use the out-of-court dispute settlement process?
You may be eligible to use this process only if all of the following apply:
- EU residence/establishment: You have your permanent location in the European Union, or, for organisations, are established in the European Union at the time of the relevant content or account enforcement decision.
- No duplicate ODS complaint: You have not already submitted another out-of-court dispute settlement complaint about the same content or account enforcement decision. If you have already submitted one, you should continue with that body rather than filing a duplicate complaint. We will also refuse to engage with out-of-court dispute settlement if the dispute has already been resolved concerning the same information and the same grounds of violation.
- The body can handle Snapchat disputes: The out-of-court dispute settlement body you choose must be certified under the Digital Services Act and must be able to review complaints about Snapchat content moderation decisions. Not every certified body handles every platform, complaint type, or language. Please check the European Commission’s list of certified bodies and the body’s own rules before submitting your complaint.
What types of Snapchat decisions are eligible for the Article 21 DSA process?
To be eligible for review under the Article 21 DSA process, the decision must relate to content or profile information that you made available on a part of Snapchat where this can be viewed by the public (i.e., people beyond the friends or recipients you chose). This includes:
- your Public Profile, such as your username or display name;
- Snaps submitted to Snap Map;
- Spotlight submissions; and
- Public Stories.
The out-of-court dispute settlement body you choose will check whether it can accept your complaint. Please make sure you meet the criteria above before filing.
What types of content are not eligible?
Content or account enforcements resulting from content shared only with selected people (that is, not with the public) or saved only to Memories is not eligible for the out-of-court dispute settlement process. Content shared only with selected people includes private Stories, direct Snaps or 1:1 Chats, and Group Chats.
Please note: This process is also not for general account access issues, forgotten passwords, hacked accounts, requests relating to data privacy, intellectual property infringement reports, or law enforcement requests. Please see here to get help with these issues.
What to expect from the process
An out-of-court dispute settlement body is independent from Snap. It can review the dispute and give its decision, but that decision is not binding on Snap or on you. This means the process does not guarantee that your content will be restored or made eligible for recommendation. Snap will engage with certified bodies in good faith, as required by the Digital Services Act. Each dispute settlement body has its own procedures, timelines and fee structure, subject to applicable legal requirements. Please consult the website of the dispute settlement body you choose for further information.