Strategy

YouTube Leads Platforms In Refusing To Cooperate With EU Content Dispute Body, Report Finds

Published on October 6, 2025

The Dublin-based Appeals Centre Europe (ACE), an independent body established under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), criticized major social media platforms for insufficient cooperation on content moderation disputes, with YouTube singled out as the most uncooperative, according to the body’s first transparency report.

Content Dispute Resolution Struggles

The report, covering November 2024 to August 2025, revealed that platforms – including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok – frequently delayed or refused engagement with the dispute settlement body. YouTube did not cooperate, providing no content for review in user disputes.

“In some cases, we’ve succeeded despite platforms, not because of them,” Thomas Hughes, who leads the panel, said in a statement.

Of the 343 eligible disputes submitted regarding YouTube, ACE was only able to make decisions on 29 due to the platform’s lack of cooperation. YouTube disputed these findings, claiming ACE “has not put in place the privacy safeguards necessary” to share user data needed to resolve content moderation decisions.

Broader EU Regulatory Enforcement

The report comes amid intensified EU scrutiny of tech platforms. The European Commission recently fined Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for Digital Markets Act violations, marking the first penalties under these new rules.

Last year, the commission also targeted YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok with information requests about their recommendation algorithms to assess risks related to civic discourse, electoral processes, mental health, and protection of minors.

Rising Importance of Platform Content

The regulatory focus aligns with research showing social media’s growing influence as information sources. The European Parliament Youth Survey found that 42% of Europeans aged 16-30 now use social media as their primary source for political and social news, surpassing television at 39%.

Despite processing nearly 10,000 disputes and issuing approximately 1,500 decisions in more than 3,300 cases, ACE describes dispute-settlement bodies as “Europe’s best-kept secret” while working to increase awareness of their role.

The DSA requirements have sparked trans-Atlantic tensions, with allies of U.S. President Donald Trump characterizing the legislation as a tool of “foreign censorship,” an accusation the EU rejects.