An independent appeals body responsible for resolving disputes between social media platforms and EU users criticized digital platforms on Wednesday for their lack of cooperation, with YouTube singled out in particular. The Dublin-based Appeals Centre Europe, established under the Digital Services Act (DSA), serves as an out-of-court mechanism for users to challenge content decisions such as account suspensions or post removals. The DSA, the European Union’s landmark content moderation law, has faced intense scrutiny from the US. While the DSA requires platforms to protect EU citizens from illegal content, it also obliges them to cooperate with dispute resolution mechanisms. However, the centre found that platforms, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok, frequently delayed or refused to provide the necessary information. YouTube was highlighted as the least cooperative. When disputes arise, the panel requests details from platforms about removed content or suspended accounts to make informed decisions. In many cases where platforms failed to provide data, the body ruled in favor of the users. Thomas Hughes, who leads the panel, noted, “In some cases, we’ve succeeded despite the platforms, not because of them.” The centre reported that, for instance, YouTube provided no content information, allowing it to resolve only 29 out of 343 eligible disputes submitted. “As such, we are concerned that YouTube’s EU users are being denied meaningful access to out-of-court settlement,” Appeals Centre Europe said. Covering the period between November 2024 to August 2025, it is the first transparency report since the body’s creation last year. The panel said dispute-settlement bodies were currently “Europe’s best-kept-secret” — but that it was working for that to change. The centre said it received nearly 10,000 disputes and has already issued around 1,500 decisions in more than 3,300 cases that were within its scope. Other platforms under the centre’s scrutiny include Pinterest and Meta-owned Threads. The DSA is currently in Washington’s crosshairs. US President Donald Trump’s allies accuse the DSA of being a tool of “foreign censorship”, but the EU rejects such accusations. There are currently multiple EU probes ongoing under the DSA into platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X.