12 March 2025
Vying for the Scales
One year after the Digital Services Act (DSA) introduced new rules for content moderation, questions remain about their implementation. While platforms must cover the costs of out-of-court dispute resolution, concerns arise over the independence of certified bodies like Appeals Centre Europe (ACE). Despite being accredited by the Irish regulator as independent, ACE has financial and structural ties to Meta, raising questions about its role in the moderation ecosystem. The article examines whether ACE’s certification aligns with the DSA’s independence requirements and what this means for the future of platform accountability in Europe. Continue reading >>
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02 April 2024
Moderation Made in Europe
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) has been fully applicable for a little more than a month now. The conditions are thus in place for the emergence of the out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) ecosystem envisaged in Article 21 DSA, arguably the DSA’s most original contribution to securing digital platform users’ rights. In this post, we try to envision the shape such an ecosystem might take over the next few years in the key area of social media content moderation (SMCM). We argue that the DSA may create an adjudication system dominated by a few ODS providers backed by public-private partnerships and ready to work in concert with the complaint-handling mechanisms set up by the platforms themselves. Continue reading >>
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10 November 2022
Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator
Elon Musk, Twitter’s conspicuous new owner, famously spoke out against Trump's deplatforming, raising concerns that he could undo it upon gaining control of the social media platform. Mr. Musk was quick to dispel these fears. He first reassured advertisers that he has no plans to relax content moderation standards. In addition, he announced that the reactivation of banned accounts is s Anyone feeling a sense of déjà vu? Continue reading >>24 March 2022
No Kidding!
The strategy of challenging a plurality of states directly before international adjudicating bodies has been, so far, a youth’s distinct move in the field of climate litigation, and it is by far the largest vehicle for transnational complaints. Our contribution provides an overview of the relevant cases, many of which still pending, and tries to pinpoint the drivers and possible trajectories of a global phenomenon which could go some way towards redressing the injustice the Global South is suffering as a result of global warming. Continue reading >>
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24 June 2021
Unpersuasive but Wise
On 16 June, by two parallel orders, the EU Court of Justice said the last word on the legality of advocate general Sharpston’s divestment. In the end, the Court did little more than reiterate the press statement it made in response to the member states’ declaration on the subject. The member states made a legitimate decision based on an old custom, and the Court could do nothing but oblige. Continue reading >>10 February 2021