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EU DSA · EU-DSA-ART17-STATEMENT-REASONS

EU DSA Article 17 - Statement of reasons

Provide clear, specific statements of reasons to users when taking content moderation actions including removal, restriction, or account suspension

CRITICALDisclosure dutyTransparencyBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 17 February 2024

Where this comes from

Provision: Article 17 - Statement of reasons

Instrument: EU Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065)

Citation: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 17

Text version: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, as adopted (CELEX 32022R2065); no consolidated text exists on Cellar, consistent with the Regulation being unamended; text retrieved 2026-09-21.

Read the official text ↗

Who it applies to

It applies when all of these are true:

  • Service is a hosting service
  • Service has users in the European Union
  • Service allows user-generated content

…unless:

  • Content moderation approach: No moderation
  • The statement of reasons is owed only where the relevant electronic contact details of the recipient are known to the provider. (DSA Article 17(2), first sentence)
  • Article 17(1) does not apply where the information is deceptive high-volume commercial content. (DSA Article 17(2), third sentence)
  • Article 17 does not apply to orders to act against illegal content issued under Article 9. (DSA Article 17(5))

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

  • Disclosure is accessible within 2 clicks from main navigation
  • Content is written at appropriate reading level (8th grade for general, lower for kids)
  • Disclosure includes: what data is collected, why, how long kept, who it's shared with
  • Last updated date is visible on the disclosure
  • Disclosure is available in all languages the product supports

Questions people ask

Does EU DSA Article 17 - Statement of reasons apply to my service?
It applies when Service is a hosting service; Service has users in the European Union; Service allows user-generated content. It does not apply where Content moderation approach: No moderation.
From when does this apply?
EU DSA Article 17 - Statement of reasons applies from 17 February 2024. Its current status is: in force.

Find out whether this one lands on you

Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.

Run the pre-scanAll EU DSA obligations

Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.

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