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Article 16

Notice and action mechanisms

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Evaluation Scenarios (4 total)

Paragraph 1

Providers of hosting services shall put mechanisms in place to allow any individual or entity to notify them of the presence on their service of specific items of information that the individual or entity considers to be illegal content. Those mechanisms shall be easy to access and user-friendly, and shall allow for the submission of notices exclusively by electronic means.

Obligations (1)
Hosting service providers must provide easy to access and friendly electronic mechanisms for anyone to report suspected illegal content. Critical Priority
1 evaluation scenario
Evaluation Scenarios (1)
1 scenario
Notice mechanism is accessible to logged-out users, electronic, and easy to use. Where content is visible to unauthenticated users, the reporting mechanism must also be available without login, collecting an email address for follow-up.
Given

A browser accessing the platform's home page as a logged-out (unauthenticated) user

When
  • We access an arbitrary user-generated content item (e.g. post, video, comment, or other item) that is visible without logging in
  • We navigate to locate and access the notice submission mechanism for reporting illegal content from that item
Then
  • The notice mechanism (form, modal, chat link, or other electronic channel) is reachable from the content item page within two clicks or navigation steps
  • The mechanism is available to logged-out users and does not require authentication to submit a report
  • The mechanism collects an email address from unauthenticated reporters so the platform can follow up
  • The mechanism accepts electronic submissions without requiring unsupported formats (accepts standard web form input, file uploads)
  • Submission instructions are written in clear language and available in the provider's supported languages
Platform Types
all
Paragraph 2

The mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 shall be such as to facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated notices. To that end, the providers of hosting services shall take the necessary measures to enable and to facilitate the submission of notices containing all of the following elements:

(a) a sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why the individual or entity alleges the information in question to be illegal content;
(b) a clear indication of the exact electronic location of that information, such as the exact URL or URLs, and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the illegal content adapted to the type of content and to the specific type of hosting service;
(c) the name and email address of the individual or entity submitting the notice, except in the case of information considered to involve one of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU;
(d) a statement confirming the bona fide belief of the individual or entity submitting the notice that the information and allegations contained therein are accurate and complete.
Obligations (1)
Hosting service providers must facilitate submission of notices containing all required elements, as described below Critical Priority
1 evaluation scenario
Evaluation Scenarios (1)
1 scenario
Notice mechanism facilitates submission of sufficiently precise and substantiated notices containing all required elements. Important — the law requires facilitation, not a specific dedicated form or template. A general contact channel (chat, email, support form) that allows users to provide the required information is a weaker but acceptable form of facilitation. Findings should distinguish between "no mechanism at all for reporting illegal content" and "no form or template specifically dedicated to reporting illegal content, but alternative channels exist."
Given

A browser accessing the platform's home page anonymously

When
  • We navigate to the notice submission mechanism (form, chat, email link, or other channel)
  • We inspect how the mechanism guides or enables users to provide the required information
Then
  • The mechanism facilitates providing an explanation of why the content is believed to be illegal (e.g., dedicated field, prompt, or clear instructions requesting this information)
  • The mechanism facilitates providing the content location such as a URL or other identifier (e.g., dedicated field, or instructions asking the user to include it)
  • The mechanism facilitates providing reporter name and email, except for reports involving child sexual abuse material (Directive 2011/93/EU Articles 3-7)
  • The mechanism facilitates including a good-faith statement confirming accuracy and completeness of the report (e.g., checkbox, explicit instruction, or equivalent)
  • The mechanism allows attaching or including supporting evidence where necessary
Platform Types
all
Paragraph 3

Notices referred to in this Article shall be considered to give rise to actual knowledge or awareness for the purposes of Article 6 in respect of the specific item of information concerned where they allow a diligent provider of hosting services to identify the illegality of the relevant activity or information without a detailed legal examination.

Obligations (1)
If the report has enough content to assess its alleged illegality, then the company becomes legally aware of the illegal content. Critical Priority
Evaluation Scenarios
No evaluation scenarios defined for this paragraph
Paragraph 4

Where the notice contains the electronic contact information of the individual or entity that submitted it, the provider of hosting services shall, without undue delay, send a confirmation of receipt of the notice to that individual or entity.

Obligations (1)
The hosting provider must quickly send receipt confirmations for notices when contact information is provided Critical Priority
1 evaluation scenario
Evaluation Scenarios (1)
1 scenario
Notice submitters receive timely receipt confirmations. Prerequisite — this scenario requires that a notice submission mechanism exists and can be used (see Article 16(1)). If no mechanism exists or a notice could not be submitted, the evaluation should report low confidence rather than a definitive failure, since the receipt confirmation behavior could not be tested.
Given

A browser accessing the platform's home page as a regular user

When
  • We navigate to the notice submission mechanism
  • We submit a notice through the mechanism with contact information provided
  • We check for a receipt confirmation via the platform's communication channels (in-app message, chat reply, email, or other)
Then
  • A confirmation of receipt is sent without undue delay (typically within minutes to hours, at most 24h) via email, in-app message, chat reply, or other electronic channel
  • The confirmation acknowledges receipt of the notice and may include a reference number or tracking ID
Platform Types
all
Paragraph 5

The provider shall also, without undue delay, notify that individual or entity of its decision in respect of the information to which the notice relates, providing information on the possibilities for redress in respect of that decision.

Obligations (1)
The hosting provider must notify submitters of decisions on their notices with appeal/redress information as soon as decision is made Critical Priority
Evaluation Scenarios
No evaluation scenarios defined for this paragraph
Paragraph 6

Providers of hosting services shall process any notices that they receive under the mechanisms referred to in paragraph 1 and take their decisions in respect of the information to which the notices relate, in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner. Where they use automated means for that processing or decision-making, they shall include information on such use in the notification referred to in paragraph 5.

Obligations (2)
The hosting provider must process notices and make decisions in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner Critical Priority
Where automated means are used for notice processing or decision-making, this must be disclosed to the notice submitter in the decision notification Critical Priority
1 evaluation scenario
Evaluation Scenarios (1)
1 scenario
The platform's public terms or policies describe notice processing standards and disclose whether automated means are used in processing or decision-making. Note — this scenario evaluates public policy statements, not observed behavior. If no policy statement is found about automation, this is a gap or concern, not the same as observing that automation was used without disclosure. The evaluation should report low confidence when findings are based on absence of information rather than observed non-compliance.
Given

A browser accessing the platform's home page anonymously

When
  • We navigate to the platform's Terms and Conditions, content policy, or other public-facing policy documents
  • We search for information about how the platform processes reports of illegal content
Then
  • The policy describes the platform's approach to processing notices (e.g., timelines, review process, decision criteria)
  • The policy states whether automated means are used in notice processing or decision-making, and if so, how this is disclosed to submitters
Platform Types
all
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