If a photo of you or a post about you is illegal, the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) gives you a formal way to report it. Platforms can't simply ignore these reports: they have to process them properly, tell you what they decided, and give you a way to challenge the decision.
This guide explains how to write a report that works, what the platform has to do with it, and what to do if it says no. It's general information, not legal advice; for a complex case, talk to a lawyer.
What the Digital Services Act is
The DSA is an EU regulation that sets rules for online services such as social networks, video sites, marketplaces, forums and hosting providers. Since 17 February 2024, it applies to every one of them that offers services to people in the EU, wherever the company is based. A US social network or a forum hosted outside Europe still has to follow it if people in the EU use it.
One of its central rules is "notice and action": every hosting service must give users an easy way to report illegal content, and must handle those reports carefully.
What counts as "illegal content"
Under the DSA, illegal content means anything that breaks EU law or the law of an EU country. When it comes to photos of people, that often includes:
- Intimate images shared without consent, including deepfakes in many countries
- Photos used for threats, harassment or extortion
- Photos that infringe copyright, for example your own photo copied without permission
- Photos published in breach of portrait or privacy rights under national law
The line is the law, not taste. A photo that's unflattering but lawful isn't illegal content. Content that only breaks a platform's own rules isn't illegal either, though you can still report it under the platform's terms of service.
How to write a DSA notice that works
Article 16 of the DSA says what a notice should contain. A notice with all of these is much harder for a platform to dismiss:
- Why the content is illegal. Explain clearly and in enough detail. Name the law if you can, for example "this image was shared without my consent, which is a criminal offence in Belgium".
- Exactly where it is. The precise URL of the post, image or profile, plus any extra detail needed to find it.
- Your name and email address. The only exception is child sexual abuse material, which can be reported anonymously.
- A good-faith statement. Confirm that you believe the information in your notice is accurate and complete.
Use the platform's own reporting form if it has one, and choose the option for illegal content (sometimes labelled "report under the Digital Services Act" or "report illegal content in the EU") rather than a general complaint. Large platforms usually link to it from their help pages or footer.
Before you send it, take screenshots of the content with the URL and date visible, in case it's moved or deleted.
What the platform has to do
Once a platform receives your notice, the DSA requires it to:
- Confirm receipt without undue delay, if you gave your contact details.
- Decide in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective way. The DSA doesn't set a fixed deadline, but "timely" means a platform can't leave your report sitting indefinitely.
- Tell you its decision without undue delay, along with the ways you can challenge it.
- Explain itself to the uploader. If it removes or restricts the content, it must give the person who posted it a statement of reasons.
If the platform refuses: your options
1. The platform's internal complaint system
Online platforms must give you a free way to complain about their decision, including when they refuse to act on your notice. You have at least six months from when they told you their decision. They must review it in a timely, diligent and non-arbitrary way.
2. Out-of-court dispute settlement
If the complaint doesn't resolve it, you can take the dispute to an independent body certified under the DSA. These bodies are meant to be fast and low-cost for users. Their decisions aren't binding, but platforms have to engage with them in good faith, and you can still go to court afterwards. The European Commission publishes the list of certified bodies.
3. A complaint to your Digital Services Coordinator
Each EU country has a regulator that oversees the DSA, called the Digital Services Coordinator. You can complain to it if you think a platform is breaking the rules. In the Netherlands this is the ACM; in Belgium, the BIPT.
4. Court or police
For serious cases, especially threats, extortion or intimate images, report it to the police as well. The DSA doesn't replace criminal law or your right to go to court.
Get help from a trusted flagger
The DSA lets national regulators appoint "trusted flaggers": expert organisations whose reports platforms must handle with priority. In the Netherlands, for example, the ACM gave this status to Offlimits in July 2025, which runs the Helpwanted service for victims of online abuse such as intimate images shared without consent, sextortion and doxxing. Reporting through an organisation like this can speed things up considerably. Our guide to removing intimate images shared without consent lists more organisations.
DSA, DMCA or GDPR: which should you use?
| Tool | Best when | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| DSA notice | The content is illegal under EU or national law | Anyone reporting to a service used in the EU |
| DMCA takedown | You own the copyright, e.g. you took the photo | Copyright owners, mainly with US-based services |
| GDPR erasure request | The content contains your personal data, like a photo that identifies you | People in the EU, sent to the site operator |
They can be combined. If someone copied a selfie you took and used it to harass you, you might send a DSA notice to the platform and a DMCA notice to the host. Our guide on your rights when a photo of you is posted without consent explains when you own the copyright and when you don't, and our free DMCA templates help with the wording.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Articles 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 and 53; Crowell & Moring on DSA notice and action; European Commission: out-of-court dispute settlement; ACM trusted flagger decision for Offlimits. Checked October 2026.
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