Appeals and other redress possibilities

Appeals

The EU Digital Services Act refers to internal complaint handling systems – we call these “appeals”. You can appeal decisions where TikTok has:

removed or otherwise restricted access to your content
banned your account
restricted access to a feature (such as LIVE); or
restricted your ability to monetise.

Appeals are also available to those who report content to TikTok where they are not satisfied with TikTok’s decision (for example, if TikTok decides not to take any action in response to your report).

Appeal rules:

Below are the rules on how TikTok handles appeals:

Timing: You can lodge an appeal up to 180 days after the date we notified you of the decision that you want to appeal. Appeals are not available after this time. To help handle your appeal as swiftly as possible, we ask that you submit your appeal as soon as possible after we notify you of the decision. While appeals are generally available for 180 days, we explain in the section below the scenarios where appeals are not available for this period and the reasons why.
One appeal: You have the right to appeal each decision to TikTok only once (though you may have other rights outside TikTok, as explained in the sections further below).
Relevant information: If you disagree with our decision and want to make an appeal, we ask that you include all relevant information to help us understand the reasons and to properly assess your appeal. Please do not include information that is not directly relevant to your appeal.
Abusive or inappropriate language: Please be respectful when submitting your appeal. If an appeal contains abusive or inappropriate language, we may reject it.
Change of reasons: If you report content for one reason, and then you later want to change the reason for your report, we may not consider that as an appeal. Instead of making an appeal, you will have an opportunity to submit a new report (specifying the correct reason for your report).
Notices: Given the potential consequences of an allegation of illegality, it is a requirement that any such reports are sufficiently precise and supported by sufficient evidence to demonstrate the alleged illegality without TikTok having to undertake a detailed legal examination. This requirement is intended to ensure that TikTok can appropriately assess the report and come to an informed and diligent decision, one which is compatible with rights such as freedom of expression and of information. If a report does not contain sufficient information to enable TikTok to identify clearly that the content complained of is illegal, the report will have to be rejected.
Illegal content reports: Where you report suspected illegal content, we will tell you if we cannot assess the illegality of the reported content either because:the report did not contain sufficiently clear and specific reasons; or the report did not contain a sufficiently clear reference to a relevant law or an explanation as to why the reported content is illegal.
Limit scenarios where appeals are not available: Appeals will not be available in limited scenarios where the relevant decision can no longer be reversed. This includes where:the relevant decision has already expired. For example, in the case of a temporary ban, an appeal will no longer be available after the temporary ban has already expired; or where the relevant decision can no longer be reversed because the content in question is temporary and has already expired. For example, in relation to a Story that has disappeared after 24 hours or LIVE that has already ended, an appeal will no longer be available because the content has expired and can no longer be reinstated.
Intellectual property: The specific rules for reports and appeals relating to intellectual property violations are covered in our Intellectual Property Policy. If you wish to make an appeal in relation to an Intellectual Property violation, please refer to the Intellectual Property Policy.
Suspension of right to lodge appeals: In line with the DSA, for individuals that abuse the appeals process by submitting more than one appeal that is clearly unfounded, TikTok may suspend the ability of such individuals to submit further appeals for a reasonable period of time.

How to appeal a decision?

If you disagree with our decision, you can appeal as follows:

1. To appeal a decision affecting your content or account:

i. Notification: We will send a notification with details of the decision to your TikTok inbox (or by email). Here is an example of the in-app notification for when a video has been removed for violating the Community Guidelines.

ii. Appeal options: The form of notification will also include the appeal options. We will ask you to provide an explanation for your appeal in a free text box.

2. To appeal a decision in relation to a report you've made:

i. Notification: Following a report, we will send a notification with details of the decision to your TikTok inbox (or by email). Here is an example of the in-app notification sent to a reporter where TikTok has not found any violations in relation to the reported content.
ii. Appeal options: This notification will also include the appeal options. We will ask you to provide an explanation for your appeal in a free text box.

What happens after an appeal is submitted?

After you submit an appeal, we will review the appeal and assess whether the original decision should be reversed or remain in place. We will notify you of the outcome of the appeal (and we note that you only appeal the decision to TikTok once).
For creators, if your appeal is successful, we will reverse the action taken against your content or account (for example, we will reinstate the removed or restricted content, or lift the account or feature ban).
For reporters, if your appeal is successful, we will take action to remove or restrict the reported content.

Other legal rights

Out-of-court dispute settlement: You also have the possibility of accessing a third party out-of-court dispute settlement process to resolve any disputes that you may have with TikTok (including in relation to any appeals). Please consult the European Commission's webpage for more information and a full list of approved out-of-court dispute settlement bodies.
Courts: You may also have the possibility of seeking a remedy from the courts, either in Ireland (where TikTok has its main establishment in the EU), or if applicable, in the EU member state where you live (or are established in the case of corporate entities). Lodging an appeal with TikTok or using the out-of-court dispute settlement process does not prevent you from doing this.
Regulators: Users of the TikTok platform may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the regulatory authority in the EU country in which you are located (or established in the case of corporate entities).