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EU DSA · EU-DSA-ART20-COMPLAINT-SYSTEM

EU DSA Article 20 - Internal complaint-handling system

Provide a free, electronic internal complaint-handling system for users to contest content moderation decisions for at least six months

CRITICALProcess dutyUser rightsBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 17 February 2024

Where this comes from

Provision: Article 20 - Internal complaint-handling system

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

Citation: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 20

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 an online platform
  • Service has users in the European Union
  • Service allows user-generated content

…unless:

  • Section 3 (Articles 20-28), with the exception of Article 24(3), does not apply to providers of online platforms that qualify as micro or small enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, nor, for the 12 months after losing that status, to providers that... (DSA Article 19(1)-(2) - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises (Section 3))

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

  • Users (and guardians) can submit a complaint through an accessible, age-appropriate flow
  • Complaints are tracked to resolution with status visible to the complainant
  • Escalation to human review is available and time-bound
  • Outcomes and remedies are recorded for audit and any transparency reporting
  • Submitting a complaint creates a tracked case with a reference

Questions people ask

Does EU DSA Article 20 - Internal complaint-handling system apply to my service?
It applies when Service is an online platform; Service has users in the European Union; Service allows user-generated content. It does not apply where Section 3 (Articles 20-28), with the exception of Article 24(3), does not apply to providers of online platforms that qualify as micro or small enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, nor, for the 12 months after losing that status, to providers that... (DSA Article 19(1)-(2) - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises (Section 3)).
From when does this apply?
EU DSA Article 20 - Internal complaint-handling system 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.

What Landfall Is NOT

Critical Boundaries

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This product does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Interpretations are informational analysis, not legal counsel. Always consult qualified legal professionals for compliance decisions.

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No numerical risk rating, compliance percentage, or safety score. Risk assessment requires human judgment about your specific context.

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Only regulators and courts provide authoritative interpretation. Our analysis reflects our reading of requirements, which may be incomplete or incorrect.

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Documentation of your process is valuable, but does not constitute a legal defense. Compliance is ultimately your organization's responsibility.

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AI-generated interpretations require human review and approval. Automated suggestions are starting points, not final answers.

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We do not cover all regulations, all obligations, or all jurisdictions.

Regulatory landscape is vast and evolving. Gaps in our coverage do not mean those requirements don't apply to you.

What This Tool IS:

  • A structured workflow for mapping regulatory requirements to implementation tasks
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  • A collaboration platform for compliance, legal, and engineering teams
  • An informational resource for understanding regulatory obligations