Right to out-of-court settlement

What it is

The right to out-of-court settlement (ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution) is the right to turn to an independent, certified body to resolve a dispute with a platform without going to court.

It is a middle ground between:

• the platform’s internal complaint, often ineffective;
• legal action in court, expensive and slow.

When it applies

Prerequisite: the internal complaint has been exhausted

As a rule, before turning to an ADR body you must have filed an internal complaint with the platform: the full sequence is set out below, under “How to exercise it”.

When you can skip the internal complaint

• The platform has not answered your complaint for more than 30 days.
• The internal complaint is clearly ineffective.
• The situation is urgent (for example a serious financial loss).

Disputes covered by ADR

Content moderation decisions

• Removal of posts, videos, comments.
• Restricted visibility.

Suspensions and bans

• Temporarily suspended accounts.
• Permanent bans.

Demonetisation

• YouTube removes monetisation.
• Professional creators lose income.

Shadowbans

• Invisible restriction of visibility.
• Engagement collapsing without explanation.