The European Union is preparing a new out-of-court body to resolve disputes between users and major digital platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. This independent facility, called “Call Center Europe,” is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2024. Your job will be to handle cases such as account deletions or reports of sedition or online harassment. The center will consist of seven members and its main goal will be to offer a quick and accessible solution to European users who disagree with the decisions of these platforms.
The “Europe Call Center” is an initiative as part of the European Digital Services Regulation (DSA), which has been in force since February 2024 and requires large platforms to offer users out-of-court help to resolve legal disputes. According to Thomas Hughes, former director of the Meta board and future head of the new structure, the DSA aims to rebalance the balance of power between users, digital platforms and governments. It allows European citizens to challenge decisions related to content moderation and management of social media accounts.
However, the call center, initially funded by Meta, will be independent of the company’s board of directors, which was created in 2020 to independently oversee content moderation following several scandals involving Facebook. Unlike the latter, the Europe Call Center will be separate from the platforms and will be completely autonomous.
Operating the center should be simple and cost-effective for users: Anyone who wants to appeal a decision by Facebook, TikTok or YouTube only has to pay 5 euros, the amount will be refunded if successful. For their part, the affected platforms must pay 100 euros per file submitted for review by the center. Ultimately, these fees will make it possible to fully finance the operation of this new facility, thus ensuring its financial independence from large technology companies.
The Europe Call Center will be based in Dublin and has been certified by the Irish Media Regulatory Authority. It is not intended to replace traditional courts, but rather to provide users with a faster, easier and cheaper alternative, while giving them the opportunity to take legal action if they wish. Thomas Hughes points out that traditional legal processes are often too cumbersome, too slow and poorly adapted to the nature of conflicts in the digital age, making this panel particularly relevant.
This initiative comes in a context where major digital platforms are regularly criticized for their management of content moderation. Sometimes they are accused of censoring voices, sometimes they are accused of allowing disinformation, hate speech and online harassment to flourish, and they struggle to find a balance between freedom of expression and protecting users. The European Commission recently expressed concern about the spread of “harmful” content, particularly on YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, and platforms are regularly taken to task for not doing enough to protect users, especially minors.
In the future, the “Europe Call Center” could expand its competencies to other social networks and digital platforms and thus strengthen its role in regulating the digital space in Europe. It represents a step forward in making platforms more accountable and creating a legal framework that better protects users.
