My social media account has been removed — what can I do?

You open Instagram, TikTok or X (formerly Twitter) and you receive an error message: your account has been removed. You are not the only one. On Instagram alone, more than 43 million accounts are terminated every six months. Often without clear reasons. What are your rights and what can you do about it?

Is it common for a social media account to be removed?

Yes, it is very common for a social media account to be removed or temporarily blocked. Recent research that I conducted for an article for the Nederlands Juristenblad (NJB) shows that over a period of 6 months in 2025, more than 43 million accounts were terminated on Instagram, nearly 5 million on TikTok, and approximately 52 million on X (extrapolated). For Instagram, this means that approximately 16% of active EU accounts were terminated during this period. On Instagram and X, the vast majority (Instagram 92%, X 99%) are removed automatically, i.e. without human intervention.

Why is a social media account removed?

The reason a social media account is removed is usually because the account has (allegedly) acted in violation of the terms of use of the social media platform. These underlying terms of use differ from platform to platform and in practice leave considerable room for interpretation. Common reasons include copyright infringements or posting content that the platform considers harmful or undesirable. The policies on what is and is not permitted also change regularly.

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, DSA), a platform is obliged, when taking a measure such as removal, to state the reason for that measure. In practice, this either does not happen or the reason is formulated so broadly that it is unclear which provision of the terms of use has allegedly been violated.

The transparency reports that the platforms are required to publish show that on Instagram and X the vast majority of removals are automated, based on an algorithm that recognises certain images or texts, for example. It also occurs, though in smaller numbers, that a social media platform takes measures after other platform users have filed a report.

What other measures can a social media platform take?

In addition to removing a social media account, it may also happen that an account is temporarily blocked. Furthermore, only an individual post may be removed. More insidious is so-called shadow banning. This means that a post or an account is not blocked or removed, but the post (or posts from an account) is not or only very limitedly shown to other users. The user of the relevant social media account initially does not notice this, except that the number of reactions to a post may be disappointing. Incidentally, even in the case of shadow banning, the user must be informed pursuant to Article 16 DSA, read in conjunction with Recital 55 DSA, in which shadow banning is explicitly mentioned. In practice, however, this (usually?) does not happen.

Is it worthwhile to complain against a measure taken by the social media platform?

Yes, it is worthwhile to file a complaint with the social media platform. Pursuant to Article 20 DSA, online platforms are obliged to offer an internal complaint-handling mechanism to users affected by a measure. The transparency reports show that complaints filed by users regarding removed content are upheld in approximately one third of cases. For complaints about removed accounts, the differences are greater: on Instagram, 38% of complaints are upheld, while on X only 12%.

The handling of complaints under this internal complaint system is fast; often the user receives a response to a complaint within a few hours.

If a complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, the path is open to an independent out-of-court dispute settlement body (Article 21 DSA). It is accessible and free of charge to file a complaint there. The decision of the dispute settlement body is binding on the platform pursuant to Article 21(2) DSA. However, my research shows that platforms do not comply with this decision in 75% of cases.

What can I do myself if a social media platform has taken a measure?

First of all, it is worthwhile to file a complaint with the relevant social media platform yourself. This is usually done via a standard form. If you have received a notification about an imposed measure from the platform, it will in most cases include an explanation and a direct link to a complaint form.

If the complaint is not upheld, you can file a complaint with an independent out-of-court dispute settlement body. The European Commission maintains a list of certified bodies; you can then choose the organisation that suits the social media platform with which you have the dispute and that communicates in a language you command.

In addition, it is possible to file a complaint with the Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ACM). The ACM supervises compliance with the DSA by social media platforms. It should be noted that the ACM does not, in principle, resolve individual disputes; it uses reports from platform users as signals to assess whether social media platforms are (structurally) meeting their due diligence obligations under the DSA.

What can Penrose do for you?

The above shows that you can do a lot yourself. But sometimes this does not lead to the desired result, for example because the social media platform does not provide reasons for the measure taken, or because the decision of an out-of-court dispute settlement body is not followed by the social media platform. In such a case, the path to the civil courts is open. Please feel free to contact Martijn Berk to discuss the options.