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If Instagram took down your content, restricted its reach or ignored your report, request a review from Instagram first. If the decision stands, Article 21 of the Digital Services Act allows an independent review: ODS, run by ADR Center (certified by AGCOM, Resolution 501/24/CONS), is free, rules on admissibility within 10 days and decides within 90, without binding either side.
ADR Center: out-of-court dispute settlement body certified by AGCOM under Article 21 of the DSA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
ODS can review content moderation decisions Instagram takes because it considers something illegal or in breach of its terms. The Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, lists them for the platform's internal complaint system and then for certified bodies: removing a post, story or comment; disabling access to content or restricting its visibility; suspending or ending the service or the account; and suspending or restricting the ability to earn money from content. It also covers the reverse situation, where you reported something and Instagram decided to leave it up. Disputes that only concern private messages or stored data, such as one-to-one chats, are outside the scope. If your whole Instagram account has been disabled or suspended, there is a separate page with the account-specific steps; this page is about posts, reach, features, monetisation and reports. ODS is not part of Instagram or Meta: it is not a help desk, and it cannot put content back online or reinstate an account.
Before coming to ODS, you need to ask Instagram to look at the removal again. Instagram's Help Center describes three ways. From the violation notification, tap Ask for a review at the bottom and follow the on-screen steps. From Account Status, go to Removed content, pick the post and tap Request a review, choose a reason and submit. Or open Support Inbox, find the update about the decision and request the review there. You can follow the request in Account Status or Support Inbox (What to do if you don't think Instagram should have taken down your post). Instagram notes that some types of content cannot be reviewed and that a reply may take a while. Keep the notification, the date you asked and the outcome: if Instagram keeps the post down, those are exactly the details ODS needs to assess the case.
Not every Instagram decision removes a post. Some limit how far your content travels, which many people call a shadowban, and some block features on your account. Instagram's Help Center says Account Status shows content that was removed and the features you can no longer use, and lets you act from there, for example by appealing a removal (Check your Account Status on Instagram). Start there and note what is restricted, since when, and what Instagram told you. Under the Digital Services Act, restricting the visibility of content and restricting monetisation are decisions you can challenge, just like a removal, so if Instagram's internal review changes nothing you can ask ODS for an independent review. ODS's independent experts measure Instagram's decision by its own terms and the law, and nobody can promise you in advance how that assessment will come out.
The Digital Services Act is not only for people whose posts were removed. If you reported content on Instagram as illegal or in breach of the rules and Instagram decided to keep it online, that is a decision about you too, and you can challenge it. Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 expressly includes individuals and organisations that submitted notices among those who can go to a certified body. The path is the same: first a complaint to Instagram about how it handled your report, then, if the answer does not satisfy you, a review by ODS. The ODS form asks for the link to the reported content if you have it, and lets you say what kind of illegal content it is. Take screenshots of the content and of Instagram's reply, because posts can be edited or deleted. ODS treats Instagram and the person who reported with the same impartiality.
A review of an Instagram decision on content needs a few things, gathered carefully. First, the reference number: in the message Instagram sent about its decision, found in notifications, email or Account Status, look for "Information for people in the EU" and create the number, which starts with "IG" (How dispute settlement bodies work in the EU for Instagram). Then the link to the content if it still exists, the date you asked Instagram for a review, Instagram's reply, and screenshots. In the ODS form you also give your country of residence in the EU, your Instagram username and the email you use on Instagram, and you confirm that no other dispute settlement body is already handling the same decision. The procedure is free, runs online in 16 languages, and after submitting you confirm the request from the link we email you.
ADR Center: out-of-court dispute settlement body certified by AGCOM under Article 21 of the DSA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
Last updated: 28 September 2026
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