European UnionDigital Services Act (DSA), Article 17 (Statement of reasons)
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 17
In force since .
A transparency and process rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- Give each affected recipient of your service a clear and specific statement of reasons for any restriction you impose on the ground that the information they provided is illegal content or incompatible with your terms and conditions: a restriction of the visibility of specific items of information (removal, disabling access or demotion), a suspension, termination or other restriction of monetary payments, a suspension or termination of the service in whole or in part, or a suspension or termination of the recipient's account.
- The duty applies only where you know the recipient's relevant electronic contact details, applies at the latest from the date the restriction is imposed, and does not apply where the information is deceptive high-volume commercial content or the restriction follows an order under Article 9.
- State in each statement of reasons: whether the decision removes, disables access to, demotes or restricts the visibility of the information, or suspends or ends monetary payments or imposes another measure, with the territorial scope and duration where relevant; the facts and circumstances relied on, including whether the decision followed a notice under Article 16 or your own voluntary investigations and, where strictly necessary, the identity of the notifier; any use of automated means in taking the decision; the legal ground relied on and why the information is illegal, or the contractual ground and why the information is incompatible with it; and clear and user-friendly information on the possibilities for redress, including internal complaint handling, out-of-court dispute settlement and judicial redress.
- Write the statement so that it is clear and easily comprehensible and as precise and specific as reasonably possible, so that the recipient can effectively use the possibilities for redress.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
Article 52(3) requires Member States to set the maximum fine for a failure to comply with an obligation in the Regulation at 6 % of the provider's annual worldwide turnover in the preceding financial year, and the maximum fine for supplying incorrect, incomplete or misleading information, failing to reply or rectify, or failing to submit to an inspection at 1 % of annual income or worldwide turnover. Article 52(4) sets the maximum periodic penalty payment at 5 % of average daily worldwide turnover or income per day.
- Rule
- Turnover pct only
- As of
- Turnover percentage cap
- 6
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The authorities of the Member State in which the provider's main establishment is located (Article 56(1)) and, for providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines, the European Commission (Article 56(3)).
What this law does
Article 17 requires a provider of hosting services to give any affected recipient of the service a clear and specific statement of reasons for a restriction it imposes on the ground that the information the recipient provided is illegal content or incompatible with its terms and conditions.
The restrictions covered are limits on the visibility of specific items of information, including removal, disabling of access and demotion, the suspension, termination or other restriction of monetary payments, the suspension or termination of the service in whole or in part, and the suspension or termination of the recipient's account.
Article 17(1) applies only where the relevant electronic contact details are known to the provider, applies at the latest from the date the restriction is imposed, and does not apply where the information is deceptive high-volume commercial content.
The statement must at least set out the decision and, where relevant, its territorial scope and duration, the facts and circumstances relied on, any use of automated means, the legal ground or the contractual ground relied on with an explanation, and clear and user-friendly information on the possibilities for redress.
The information must be clear and easily comprehensible and as precise and specific as reasonably possible under the given circumstances, and such as to reasonably allow the recipient to exercise the possibilities for redress effectively. Article 17 does not apply to orders referred to in Article 9.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.