Impress Dispute Resolutions
Disagree with a social media decision?
If a platform removed your content, or left up content you reported, you can get an independent expert decision at no cost.
Certified by Coimisiún na Meán under Article 21 of the EU Digital Services Act
Free to bring a case, whatever the outcome
Platforms cannot pay to win your case
Is this for you
Is Impress Dispute Resolutions (IDR) for you?
You can bring a case if a social media platform made a decision about illegal content and you think they got it wrong.
Has someone posted your address, your photos or intimate images of you without your consent? Used your work, your brand or your likeness without permission? Made false claims about you, or targeted you or your loved ones with abuse or threats? If you reported it and the social media platform did not act, or if they took your content down when it broke no law, that is what we are here for.
You reported illegal content and the platform left it up
You flagged something to the platform. They decided not to remove it, and you disagree.
A platform removed your content and you think that was wrong
Your post, video or account was actioned on the grounds that it broke the law, and you believe it did not.
You have already had a decision from the platform
Your outcome is easier with decisions platforms have already made. If you have not reported the content yet, start there and come to us with their answer.
You will need a substantial connection to the EU. That usually means you live in the EU, but not always.
What it costs
It costs you nothing
You shouldn’t have to pay to challenge a decision someone else made about you. So, with us, you don’t.
Platforms pay the costs of complaints where the decision is against them, and we cover the rest.
Platforms cannot fund us to take their side. Our fees are fixed and published, so no case is worth more to us than another. Our legal experts are paid the same irrespective of the decision, and decision-makers are selected independently to ensure fairness.
How it works
Three steps, start to finish
1
You send us your case
Fill in our online form. We tell you within two working days whether we can take your case and explain why, if we cannot.
2
A qualified lawyer decides it
Ciarb appoints a case decision-maker from our panel. Every one is a qualified lawyer with at least seven years’ experience. They ask you and the platform for anything else they need, then send you a written decision explaining what they found.
3
We hold them to account
Your decision goes to the platform and we ask them to act on it. We record what they do, we publish it to the public and inform regulators where our decisions are not implemented.
Timing
Most cases take about one to three months from start to finish. A case decided without a hearing always concludes within three months of your expert being appointed.
What our decisions can and cannot do
Our decisions are not legally binding. Platforms are legally required to engage with the process, but they are not required to follow the outcome. If they do not, we pass the information to the regulators, who can hold them to account. Either way, your case always counts.
Bringing a case to us does not affect your right to go to court, before, during or after.
What we cover
What we can and cannot decide on
We can decide cases about
- Privacy and personal data
- Defamation, hate speech and threats
- Copyright and intellectual property
- Intimate images, deepfakes and doxing
- Bullying, stalking and sexual harassment
- Incitement to violence or hatred
We cannot take on
- Content that is not illegal, including content you simply disagree with
- Cases already before a court, or with another dispute body
- Cases with no substantial connection to the EU
There are other things we do not cover. Where we cannot help, we tell you why and point you somewhere that can.
Why independence matters
Platforms cannot fund us to take their side
A decision is only worth having if both sides can trust who made it.
We are not funded by any platform. No platform sits on our board or has any role in selecting the people who decide cases.
Our experts are appointed by the Dispute Appointment Service at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb), not by us. Every one is a qualified lawyer with at least seven years’ post qualification experience and Ciarb accreditation. Every appointment is checked for conflicts of interest, and either party can raise a concern directly with Ciarb.
Impress Dispute Resolutions is supported by Impress, the UK’s only Press Recognition Panel recognised press regulator, which has resolved disputes between the public and media organisations since 2016.
We publish our own figures. Case volumes, outcomes, how platforms respond, and complaints about our own service all go on public record.
For CIVIL organisations
Do you support people affected by content online?
If you work with people harmed by content on social media, you can refer them to us. There is no cost to you or to them, and no agreement needed.
We produce plain language guides you can share, and we can brief your team on how they can get help.
For platforms
For platforms: Are you subject to Article 21 of DSA or received notification of a case?
Check your obligations under Article 21 of DSA, rules of procedure, fees, and how to register a contact point.
Not sure if we can help?
The eligibility check takes about two minutes. If we can take your case, you can submit full information, which takes about ten minutes after that. You can save it and come back.