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Freedom251 › Blog › content reporting

How to Report Illegal or Copyright-Infringing Content on an Online Platform in the EU

By Freedom251 Team · · 11 min read

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Start with the platform’s own Report or Flag control, identify the exact post, account, advertisement or listing, and explain in factual terms why you believe it is illegal. For copyright, use the platform’s dedicated copyright route when one exists and identify both the protected work and the allegedly infringing copy. Keep the confirmation and decision. If the platform rejects the report, restricts your content or provides no satisfactory remedy, use its internal complaint process, contact the Digital Services Coordinator in the relevant EU Member State, or consider judicial redress under the applicable EU and national law.

A report is a notice for the platform to assess; it is not itself a legal finding. Whether material is illegal can depend on EU rules and the law of the Member State concerned.

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First decide which EU reporting route applies

There are two related but different procedures. The Digital Services Act (DSA) provides a general notice-and-action mechanism for allegedly illegal content. Copyright claims may also fall under Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/790, but that framework applies to the defined category of online content-sharing service providers, not automatically to every website, social network, marketplace or messaging service.

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Question General illegal-content notice (DSA) Copyright notice (Directive 2019/790, Article 17)
Who can use it? An individual or organisation can notify a platform through its notice mechanism. Trusted-flagger priority is not required. Normally a rightsholder or an authorised representative identifies a protected work and an allegedly infringing use.
What services are covered? Providers of intermediary services and platforms covered by the DSA, subject to the regulation’s scope and exemptions. Online content-sharing service providers that meet the Directive’s definition and conditions. Not every online service is covered.
What must the notice explain? Why the identified material is allegedly illegal, where it is located, who is notifying (with the regulation’s specified exception), and a good-faith accuracy and completeness statement. Which work is protected and where the allegedly infringing copy or use appears, with enough information for the service to assess the claim.
What does the service do? It must process the notice and decide in a timely, diligent and non-arbitrary manner. For a sufficiently substantiated notice under the applicable conditions, a covered service must act expeditiously to disable access to or remove the notified work.
What if the decision is disputed? Look for the platform’s internal complaint route; qualifying disputes may also use out-of-court settlement or judicial redress. Covered services must provide an effective and expeditious complaint and redress mechanism for users whose uploads are disabled or removed.
Does national law matter? Yes. The DSA supplies a procedure, but the underlying illegality may come from EU or national law. Yes. Copyright exceptions and the Directive’s implementation operate through applicable national law.

What makes content “illegal” in the EU?

The DSA does not turn every offensive, misleading or harmful item into illegal content. An item is illegal when it breaches applicable EU law or the law of a Member State, such as rules on criminal offences, consumer protection, intellectual property or other regulated conduct. The legal test can therefore differ by country and by the facts of the item.

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Describe the suspected legal problem instead of using a broad label. For example, explain that a listing appears to sell a counterfeit product, that a post publishes private information in breach of a specific rule, or that an upload reproduces a copyrighted film without authorisation. If you only dislike an opinion or find language unpleasant, that may be a moderation issue rather than an illegal-content notice.

Step 1: Capture the exact item before reporting

Make a record that lets the platform distinguish the material from other posts by the same person. Save the direct URL or other locator, the account, seller or channel name, the date and time you saw it, and any identifying title, post number or product identifier. If the item is a video or live stream, note the relevant timestamp. If a form accepts attachments, provide accurate screenshots or files that show the context without altering the underlying material.

Preserve the original page as well as your notes. Content can be edited, deleted or reposted after you submit a notice. Do not access an account without permission, bypass a technical restriction or collect more personal data than is needed to identify the alleged violation.

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Step 2: Find the platform’s notice-and-action mechanism

The DSA requires platforms to provide an easy-to-find, user-friendly way to notify them about allegedly illegal content. In practice, the control is often beside the post, profile, advertisement or listing and is labelled Report, Flag or similar. A help centre, safety page or support inbox may provide the alternative when the item-level menu is unavailable.

  1. Open the exact item, not merely the person’s general profile.
  2. Select Report, Flag or the platform’s equivalent.
  3. Choose the closest legal category, such as intellectual-property infringement, fraud, illegal goods, privacy or another stated reason.
  4. Complete every field that helps locate and assess the item. If the platform sends you to a separate copyright form, use that form for the copyright claim.
  5. Save the submission number, confirmation email, screenshots of the completed form and the date submitted.

A general abuse, spam or community-guidelines form may not put the notice into the platform’s legal notice process. If the menus offer both a policy report and an intellectual-property or copyright form, use the legally specific route for the corresponding allegation.

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Step 3: Write a substantiated, good-faith explanation

Article 16 of the DSA requires a notice to contain a sufficiently substantiated explanation of why the information is allegedly illegal and a clear indication of its exact electronic location. It also calls for the notifier’s name and email, subject to the regulation’s specified exception for certain offences, and a statement made in good faith that the information and allegations are accurate and complete.

Keep the explanation short enough to be assessed, but specific enough to be verifiable. State what the item is, what legal right or rule you believe it violates, and the facts supporting that conclusion. Distinguish what you personally observed from what you infer. Do not exaggerate, threaten the platform or present an unresolved allegation as an established court finding.

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A useful structure is:

  • Location: paste the direct URL or other precise locator and identify the account or listing.
  • Conduct: describe exactly what the item shows, offers, says or reproduces.
  • Legal reason: name the suspected category of illegality and, where you know it, the relevant EU or national rule.
  • Supporting facts: identify dates, ownership information, transaction details or other evidence that the platform can check.
  • Statement: confirm that you are acting in good faith and that the information supplied is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge.

Article 16(6) states: "The provider shall process any notice that it receives under the mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 and take a decision in respect of the information to which the notice relates, in a timely, diligent and non-arbitrary manner." That obligation concerns the platform’s handling of the notice; it does not guarantee removal or require the platform to accept your legal interpretation.

How to report copyright infringement

Identify the protected work

Say what you own or are authorised to represent: for example, a photograph, illustration, article, song, recording, film, software code or other protected work. Include a title, creation or publication details, a link to an authorised copy where useful, and the basis on which you may act for the rightsholder. Only provide information you can support.

Identify the allegedly infringing material

Give the exact URL or locator for the upload, the account that posted it and the part that allegedly copies, communicates or makes the work available. If only one image, excerpt, track or scene is involved, identify that portion rather than reporting an entire account without explanation.

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Use the dedicated copyright channel

Many services provide a copyright or intellectual-property form separate from their ordinary report menu. Use it when available and follow its required declaration, contact and ownership fields. A notice should enable the service to compare the protected work with the allegedly infringing use; saying only that material is “stolen” is unlikely to provide enough detail.

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Article 17 of Directive 2019/790 establishes a specific framework for covered online content-sharing service providers. Under the Directive’s conditions, a sufficiently substantiated rightsholder notice can require the service to act expeditiously to disable access to or remove the notified work. Do not assume that Article 17 applies to the service you are using: the category is defined by the Directive and its exclusions and conditions.

Account for lawful uses

A copyright notice does not automatically prove infringement. The relevant framework protects lawful uses recognised in national implementation, including quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody and pastiche. Explain why the particular use appears to exceed those protections rather than treating every excerpt, meme, review or transformative use as unlawful.

What happens after you submit a notice?

The platform should assess the information and communicate its decision or the relevant reasons through the channel it uses for moderation decisions. There is no universal EU promise of removal, a fixed response time or a particular enforcement result. A platform may request clarification, restrict access, leave the material available, or take another measure allowed by its rules and the applicable law.

Check the decision message, support inbox, account settings and help centre for the internal complaint instructions. Keep the original notice and the decision together. If the platform asks for additional evidence, answer the specific request and avoid sending unrelated personal information.

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If the platform removes or restricts your own upload, read the explanation carefully. It may identify whether the action was based on a general illegal-content notice, a copyright claim, a community rule or another policy. The legal complaint route and the facts you need to challenge the decision can differ.

When a copyright removal affects your upload

For covered online content-sharing services, the Article 17 framework requires an effective and expeditious complaint and redress mechanism for users whose content is disabled or removed. Use that mechanism when you believe the removal is mistaken or your use is protected.

Explain the lawful basis for the upload, such as quotation, criticism, review, parody or pastiche where applicable, and identify the portion of the work used and the surrounding context. Attach the platform’s decision and the original upload details. Do not submit a counter-notice that you know is false. The service must assess the complaint under the applicable rules; a complaint is not a guarantee that the content will be restored.

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If the platform rejects or ignores your report

Use the platform’s internal complaint system

The DSA requires platforms to make information about internal complaints available. The link may appear in the decision itself, a support inbox, account settings or a help centre. Describe the original notice, explain which requirement you believe was overlooked and attach the confirmation number and exact locator. Ask for a review of the specific item rather than making a general complaint about the platform.

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Consider out-of-court dispute settlement

The DSA provides for out-of-court dispute settlement in qualifying cases. Whether a particular body and dispute qualify depends on the platform, the decision and the applicable procedure. Review the platform’s instructions and the information supplied with its decision before choosing this route.

Contact the national Digital Services Coordinator

Each Member State has a Digital Services Coordinator responsible for DSA-related supervision in the circumstances assigned by the regulation. The appropriate authority depends on the issue and the country connected with the service or complainant. Provide a chronological record: the item’s URL, your notice, confirmation, the platform’s decision or lack of response, and your internal complaint.

A coordinator can address regulatory concerns; it does not necessarily decide that a particular post is illegal or order the outcome you want. Check the authority’s current contact details because national webpages and procedures can change.

Seek judicial redress where appropriate

You may also have rights under EU or national law to seek judicial redress. The correct court, time limit, evidence and remedy depend on the subject matter and Member State. For a serious copyright, privacy, fraud or safety dispute, obtain advice from a qualified lawyer or an appropriate legal-aid service before filing.

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Trusted flaggers: useful distinction for ordinary reporters

Trusted flaggers are designated entities with relevant expertise, not a special account status that an individual must obtain before filing a notice. Qualifying organisations apply to the Digital Services Coordinator where they are established. Platforms must give priority to notices submitted by trusted flaggers within the entity’s designated area of expertise.

An ordinary user should therefore submit a complete notice through the normal mechanism. Do not claim to be a trusted flagger, and do not expect your report to receive that priority unless you represent a formally designated entity acting within its remit.

Evidence, privacy and personal safety

  • Capture context: save enough of the page to show the surrounding text, seller identity and date, not only a cropped image that could be misunderstood.
  • Limit disclosure: provide the name, email and supporting material the form requests, but remove unrelated identity documents, private messages and third-party data.
  • Protect yourself: do not contact an alleged offender if doing so could expose you to retaliation, harassment or fraud. Use the platform and competent authorities instead.
  • Preserve originals: keep unedited files and note how and when you obtained them. Label edited screenshots as such.
  • Report urgent danger separately: if there is an immediate threat to life or safety, contact emergency services in your country; a platform report is not an emergency response.

Common mistakes that weaken a notice

  • Reporting an entire account without identifying the specific post, listing or upload.
  • Choosing a copyright category but failing to identify the protected work or the allegedly infringing copy.
  • Using conclusory language such as “illegal” without explaining the facts and legal concern.
  • Submitting a false or automated mass notice, or repeating allegations you cannot support.
  • Assuming that offensive content is illegal in every Member State.
  • Ignoring the platform’s decision message and missing its internal complaint instructions.
  • Expecting the Digital Services Coordinator to guarantee removal or a particular court-like remedy.

Copy-and-adapt report outline

The following outline is not a legal form. Adapt it to the platform’s fields and the facts you can substantiate:

Exact location: [direct URL or other locator]
Account, seller or channel: [name and identifier]
Description: [what the item contains or offers]
Alleged legal problem: [specific suspected violation and relevant facts]
Copyright details, if applicable: [protected work, rightsholder or authority, and where the copy appears]
Supporting information: [dates, authorised source, transaction or other verifiable material]
Good-faith statement: I believe the information and allegations above are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge, and I am submitting this notice in good faith.
Contact: [name and email requested by the form]

Final checklist before pressing Submit

  1. Can the platform open the exact item from the locator you supplied?
  2. Have you named the account, seller or uploader and included enough context to distinguish the item?
  3. Have you explained the suspected illegality rather than only expressing disapproval?
  4. For copyright, have you identified both the protected work and the allegedly infringing material?
  5. Are your facts, attachments and good-faith statement accurate and complete?
  6. Have you saved the confirmation, case number and a copy of the decision?
  7. If the outcome is unsatisfactory, have you checked the internal complaint route before considering the Digital Services Coordinator or judicial redress?

The practical sequence is therefore: identify and preserve the item, submit a precise notice through the platform’s mechanism, use the dedicated copyright route when relevant, review the decision and internal complaint option, and escalate through the competent national or judicial channel when the facts and law justify it.

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