Online Hate Speech Complaints Surge

The number of complaints about decisions made by social media platforms is rising quite visibly across Europe. This is shown by a new report from the Appeals Centre Europe (ACE), an independent arbitration body that handles disputes surrounding platforms such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram or TikTok within the European Union. Between April 2025 and March 2026, more than 24,000 disputes were filed there — a substantial increase from the previous year. The most common issues involve suspended accounts or deleted content, but there are also cases where hateful content remained online despite being reported, as well as instances of calls for violence or pornographic material.

“We most often disagreed with TikTok — there, we overturned 83 percent of the decisions to allow potential hate speech online,” ACE explained. “Next came Instagram (74 percent), Facebook (61 percent), and YouTube (58 percent). These cases involved hateful content targeting religious minorities, Roma, migrants, and LGBTQI+-community members.”

Germans complain the least

The majority of “admissible dispute cases” originated in France, followed by Belgium, Italy, and Spain. Germany ranks fifth. In relation to population, however, Germans filed the fewest complaints among all 27 EU member states — perhaps because many people are unaware that the institution exists.

“Online hate and harassment have real consequences for many people and communities,” ACE chief Thomas Hughes said. “In more than two-thirds of our hate-speech decisions we concluded that platforms did not enforce their own rules and left hateful content online — including antisemitic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, anti-Romani, homophobic, and transphobic posts. This shows that platforms do not always get it right. Anyone within the EU can challenge platform decisions for free at the Appeals Centre Europe and receive an expert, independent review.”

Social media platforms fund ACE

The Appeals Centre Europe, based in Dublin, began operating in October 2024. Each case is reviewed by professional policy and content specialists. Access is completely free for people in the EU, since the operating costs are legally covered by the social media platforms. A decision is typically issued within 90 days after submission.

Social-media magnates are a sticking point for ACE. Elon Musk’s platform X has taken legal action against the centre — arguing that the authority has overstepped its powers. A ruling in the matter has not yet been issued.