Meta Rarely Responds to EU Account Ban Appeals

Appeals Centre Europe, an independent EU dispute settlement body for social media users, has reported serious gaps in platform cooperation under the EU Digital Services Act. In the year to March 2026, account suspensions were the largest category of complaints. The body reviewed more than 4,600 cases from Facebook, Instagram and Threads users who claimed they had been wrongly banned, but Meta provided relevant evidence in fewer than 100 cases.

The findings raise important questions about the practical effectiveness of the DSA’s out-of-court dispute settlement system. Although decisions by such bodies are not legally binding, online platforms are required to engage in good faith. According to Appeals Centre Europe, platforms are often unable or unwilling to provide the content needed for independent review, leaving users with little meaningful redress after account bans.

The report also highlights failures in content moderation, especially in hate speech cases. Appeals Centre Europe found that platforms left up hateful content in more than two-thirds of reviewed hate speech disputes. The highest non-removal rate was reported for TikTok at 83%, followed by Instagram at 74%, Facebook at 61% and YouTube at 58%.

Across more than 10,000 reports, platforms failed to provide relevant content in 72% of cases. Where the body could review the material, it disagreed with platform decisions 59% of the time. The report points to a wider compliance issue under the DSA: dispute bodies can only support user rights if platforms provide evidence, data and follow-up on whether decisions are implemented.