New certification from Irish online safety regulator gives anyone in the EU power to resolve disputes with social media platforms independently, at no cost to users.
Impress is proud to announce new powers to resolve content disputes with Very Large Online Platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and X.
Impress Dispute Resolutions (IDR), a Dublin-based subsidiary of UK regulator Impress, has been certified as an Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) body under Article 21 of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). Coimisiún na Meán, the Irish broadcasting and online safety regulator, has certified Impress to resolve disputes relating to illegal content on content sharing and social media platforms.
“Until now, social media users have had little recourse to dispute content moderation decisions beyond going to court. We believe there should be no barrier to personal redress, so we’ve chosen to make this service free to users,” said Gia Thom, co-founder of Impress Dispute Resolutions and director at Impress.
“Our vision of an empowered public with access to a trusted and resilient information ecosystem drives our work–this certification means we can continue that mission in the online space people use most: social media.”
Why ODS certification matters
With ODS, users can contest moderation decisions, and suspension or reinstatement of accounts. Although non-binding, the decisions by ODS bodies support enforcement by EU regulators and address systemic issues like discriminatory or biased recommender algorithms, shadow-banning, demonetisation and misinformation that undermines electoral integrity.
Crucially, ODS protects freedom of expression and civil discourse; it both upholds legitimate rights against censorship and protects against damaging, destructive content.
It also gives online users in the EU the opportunity to formally advance complaints without needing to enter a court room. Fees for any dispute in favour of the user are borne by the platform.
Impress Dispute Resolutions will address disputes involving illegal content such as:
- Data protection and privacy violations
- Illegal or harmful speech
- Intellectual property infringements
- Negative impacts on civic discourse or elections
- Non-consensual behaviours, including bullying or intimidation
- Acts of violence
These high-level categories cover many types of illegal content that are common online today, such as hate speech, mis- and disinformation and sharing of non-consensual images, like nude deepfakes.
”Out-of-court dispute settlement bodies play an important role under the EU Digital Services Act in re-balancing the relationship between the public and the online platforms which they use,” said John Evans, Digital Services Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán.
“ODS bodies provide the public with an opportunity to resolve disputes relating to the decisions of online platforms, an important alternative route to expensive legal action.
“On behalf of Coimisiún na Meán, I would like to congratulate Impress Dispute Resolutions on their certification as Europe’s newest ODS body, certified in Ireland, and for the time and effort that they put into their application.”
ODS expands Impress and its roster of services
Impress currently regulates the largest network of independent publishers in the UK. More than 200 publications have diligently upheld our standards: 69 percent of have never received a complaint, and among those who have, 80 percent have never received another.
While Impress will continue to meet its remit regulating the press standards across the UK, this new certification enables expansion of a framework that has operated successfully for ten years deliver a novel service in Europe, helping even more people find justice and fairness.
Impress’ credibility has been recognised four times as independent of all political and industry influence under Royal Charter, most recently in 2025, recognised by the independent Press Recognition Panel.
Impress has also operated the only independent, recognised arbitration service for news publishers and the public which has helped to ensure that no member has ever been successfully sued or silenced by litigation.
Today’s announcement coincides with the second annual ODS conference, hosted this year in Vienna, and supported by the ODS Network of which Impress has been a founding member since 2024.
The ODS service will launch to the public in August 2026.
For further information please contact media@impressdisputeresolutions.org