Social media users in the EU will soon be able to make complaints about platforms' content moderation to a new independent body set up in Ireland.
Appeals Centre Europe will act as an out-of-court dispute settlement body under the EU's Digital Services Act, initially deciding cases relating to Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, with plans to include more social media platforms over time.
Until now, users have had limited options to challenge the content decisions of social media companies without going to court, but the EU wants to change that.
Appeals Centre Europe will be funded with a one-time $130M grant from Meta's Oversight Trust Board, followed by a €100 fee charged to social media companies for each case. Users who raise a dispute will pay a “nominal” fee of €5, which will be refunded if a decision is found in their favor.
The new body will review each case within 90 days to decide whether platforms’ decisions are consistent with their content policies.
Thomas Hughes, inaugural CEO of the Appeals Centre, said, “We want users to have the choice to raise a dispute to a body that is independent from governments and companies, and focused on ensuring platforms’ content policies are fairly and impartially applied.”
Uh oh.. does the EU know what they're about to get themselves into?
I can't say that Facebook's moderation is great… or even good… but I can say that it's a MASSIVE operation!
Earlier this year I reported that Meta's Oversight Board only made 53 decisions out of the 398,597 appeals they received globally last year. The board wrote in their annual report, “While we can only review a small number of cases, we continue to select cases that often raise underlying issues facing large numbers of people around the world and make recommendations to address them.”
Is the EU's new body going to attempt to tackle those other 398,544 Facebook appeals — plus TikTok and YouTube appeals?
Here's why the answer to that question doesn't matter…
Under the rules of the Digital Services Act, social media platforms are allowed to refuse to engage with this type of dispute settlement body, and the Appeals Centre Europe won’t have the power to impose a binding settlement on the parties, according to Fast Company. (I reached out to Appeals Centre Europe on X to verify that, but haven't heard back yet.)
If true, does that mean that the Appeals Centre Europe is pretty much a glorified r/AmITheAsshole subreddit — where a board casts opinions about a dispute, but can't change the outcome?
As a user with a dispute, what would be the point of paying the fee to have the Appeals Centre Europe review my case if in the end, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube can stand by their original decision either way?
I also asked the Appeals Centre Europe what commitments they have from Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube to abide by their decisions. I'll provide an update in a future edition if I hear back from them.