The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership today published an updated position paper, developed by the DTSP Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) Working Group, addressing the emerging ODS ecosystem under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
First published for consultation in December 2025 and now revised and updated following consultation with stakeholders, this paper identifies best practices and proposes solutions to facilitate an ODS regime capable of delivering swift and cost-effective redress over content moderation disputes at scale. It highlights four foundational principles:
- Consistent expertise and competence;
- Effective eligibility, materiality and abuse prevention;
- Proper use of any available internal complaints and appeals process; and
- Reasonable and proportionate cost and fee structures.
The above principles are important enablers to ensure an effective and consistent ODS ecosystem and are elaborated and illustrated with case studies in the first part of this paper.
This is followed by a review of emerging best practices to harmonise procedural rules and increase the efficiency and scalability of the system. There is a clear opportunity and need for ODS bodies and platforms to align around some key operational principles. In the six months since this paper was first published, the ODS Working Group has been in regular dialogue with ODS bodies. We have made some progress, in particular as regards proposed best practice for a target set of information for ODS bodies to collect from users. As our dialogue increases understanding between the actors in this new and growing ecosystem, we aim to establish best practices in this and other areas.
At the same time, there are certain areas, such as the certification process, fee methodologies and information sharing complexities which require regulatory engagement and input to effectively foster compliant, predictable and consistent ODS market conditions.
About DTSP
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a unique initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We are committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.