Coimisiún na Meán has begun an investigation into the social media platform X.
The investigation arises from concerns held by the national agency’s Platform Supervision Team, regarding X’s compliance with Article 20 of the Digital Services Act.
The Act requires online platforms to implement an internal complaint handling system for users to appeal platform decisions about their content or account.
These concerns are supplemented by information provided by the non-governmental organisation HateAid along with a user complaint.
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The agency for developing and regulating is probing three issues around whether members of the public are able to appeal X’s decisions not to remove content when they report something that they think breaches the online platform’s terms of service.
The other two areas being probed are if people are properly informed of the outcome of a report they make and whether they are informed about their right to appeal the decision. And also whether X has an internal complaints-handling mechanism that is easy to access and user friendly.
This is the first formal investigation opened by Coimisiún na Meán under the umbrella of the Online Safety Framework. An Coimisiún is co-operating with the European Commission on several of its investigations relating to VLOPs which have their European establishment in Ireland.
John Evans, Digital Services Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán explained that following their supervision of X and analysis of information gathered from a variety of sources, “there is reason to suspect that X may not be in compliance with their obligations under Article 20.”
Mr Evans said that the investigation will assess if X has “properly informed” users of their rights to “contest decisions” it makes after users report content that they believe “violates X’s terms of service.”
“Users must be made aware of the platform’s decision and the right to appeal. The right to appeal a decision is an essential right and a cornerstone of the Act.”
He outlined that they are taking “an important step” in ensuring a safer online experience for users across the European Union.
“We expect online platforms to meet their obligations under the DSA, and to operate with transparency in informing users of their rights to report and to appeal decisions,” Mr Evans continued.
He warned that if the agency suspects that any platform is “failing in these obligations,” they will “not hesitate to intervene” and where appropriate take “enforcement action” to protect the safety of users in Ireland, and across the EU.
Coimisiún na Meán collaborates closely with the European Commission to ensure the Digital Services Act produces good outcomes for European citizens for the largest platforms.
The Commissioner urged people that if they see “illegal content online, or content that breaks a platform’s own rules,” to report it to the platform where it is seen.
“If you can’t find an easy way to do this, or if you’re not happy with a platform’s response, our contact centre can provide adviceand support, and escalate issues to our complaints team when necessary,” he added.
