Notices under the Digital Services Act (article 16)

What the DSA changed

The Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065) has applied in full since 17 February 2024 (EUR-Lex). Every hosting service offered in the EU, from a small forum to a large social network, must run a notice-and-action system. Article 16 says it must be open to any individual or entity. You do not need to be a lawyer, a police officer or the person shown in the content.

A notice that contains the required elements gives the host actual knowledge of the content. From that point, a host that keeps clearly illegal content online takes a legal risk. That is why a precise notice tends to get a real answer, where a short click on “report” may not.

The elements a notice must contain

1. A sufficiently substantiated explanation of why the content is considered illegal.
2. The exact electronic location: the URL of the post, video, comment or page, not just the profile.
3. The name and email address of the person or entity sending the notice (with exceptions for some offences against children).
4. A statement of good faith that the information is accurate and complete.

The platform must then decide in a timely, diligent and objective way, tell the author why if it restricts the content (art. 17), and offer an internal complaint system against its decision (art. 20). If that fails, certified out-of-court dispute settlement bodies can review the case (art. 21).

Our role, and its limits

A DSA notice for illegal content needs a legal reason under national or EU law. We write it as your factual notice: what the content says, where it is, which facts are wrong or which personal data is exposed, and which rule appears to be concerned. We do not give a legal opinion that the content is illegal: the host decides, and only a court can rule. NetClearer is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Outside Germany, platforms seldom take down reviews on legal grounds alone. In the DSA transparency data, 99.97% of Google Maps reviews removed for defamation in the EU concerned German businesses (PPC Land). For reviews in our countries, the policy route is usually the realistic one: see review removal.

Where a DSA notice works well

• Personal data exposed without consent: home address, phone number, ID documents, health information.
• Intimate images shared without consent: see intimate images. Links are enough; never send us the images.
• Impersonation: a fake profile using your name and photos.
• Clearly false statements of fact that you can disprove with a document (see false results).
• Threats and harassment aimed at you or your staff.

How we file

1. You send the links and explain in your words what is wrong. We check whether a policy report, a GDPR request or a DSA notice fits best; sometimes all three.
2. You sign a mandate. We file the notice through the platform’s DSA form, the same day you order, and keep the confirmation.
3. We read the decision. If it is negative, we file the internal complaint (art. 20) and, where useful, ask Google to delist the page.
4. We send you a summary of each step.

Price: €29 incl. VAT per link. No refund once your request has been filed. We never file fake notices or invented legal claims; a notice is signed in good faith, and so is ours.