Any natural or legal person, as well as any organization or association that has reason to believe that an intermediary service provider is not fulfilling its obligations under the Digital Services Act, may file a complaint with ANCOM, in accordance with Decision no. 335/2024, which entered into force following its publication in the Romanian Official Journal No. 644/05.07.2024
Complaints regarding digital services may be submitted to ANCOM—acting in its capacity as Digital Services Coordinator—through the dedicated online complaint form for digital services online form dedicated to digital services.
Procedure for resolving complaints concerning digital services
Under the procedure established by ANCOM’s decision, the Authority receives, analyzes, responds to admissible complaints based on Article 53 of the Digital Services Act and, where applicable, redirects them to Digital Services Coordinators in other EU Member States.
Once a complaint that meets the minimum admissibility requirements is received, ANCOM may initiate an investigation if the intermediary service provider in question has its main establishment or residence in Romania, or if its legal representative is established in Romania. The resolution period for such complaints is 90 days, with the possibility of extending the deadline by an additional 90 days in complex cases.
If the intermediary service provider has its principal establishment/residence in another EU Member State, or if its legal representative is not established in Romania, the complaint will be handled by the Digital Services Coordinator of the relevant Member State, with ANCOM facilitating communication between the involved parties.
IMPORTANT!
! The primary responsibility for the initial handling and resolution of complaints lies with intermediary service providers, which are required to adopt organizational measures ensuring compliance with the Digital Services Regulation Act. Digital Services Coordinators must intervene when systemic infringements are reported.
! With regard to possible claims/complaints concerning the removal of illegal content online, including products, services, websites or various information, it should be noted that ANCOM does not rule whether online content is illegal (except in areas where ANCOM itself is the competent authority). Complaints concerning illegal content fall under the remit of public authorities with sector‑specific oversight responsibilities, as defined in Article 4(1)(a) of Law No. 50/2024. Thus, if ANCOM receives such complaints, they will be processed solely for statistical purposes, including trend identification. In these cases, the Authority will advise complainants to contact the relevant intermediary service provider and will explain the provider’s obligations under the Digital Services Act, indicating, where possible, the competent authority with jurisdiction over the reported illegal content.
For example, ANCOM has the role of supervisory and control authority (and therefore is the competent authority in these cases) in areas regulated by Government Decision No. 740/2016 on making available on the market of radio equipment and Government Decision No. 487/2016 on electromagnetic compatibility.
Everything about digital services on ANCOM’s InfoCentre
To assist interested users, ANCOM has published a dedicated section within the ANCOM InfoCentre, where all relevant information regarding the implementation of the Digital Services Act in Romania is presented in accessible language. This page explains the provisions of the European legislative act and the obligations of intermediary service providers and describes the steps that users must follow to report illegal content, content restrictions, as well as users’ rights.
The section also contains more details on who is subject to the new legislative package, what are the Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs), what are the restrictions regarding the content or the account of the recipient of the service, more information about a product or service sold online, advertising‑related communications, and more.
Digital Services Act
The purpose of the Digital Services Act is to ensure a safe and transparent online environment where minors are better protected, with prohibitions on profile‑based advertising, with transparent terms and conditions for online platforms and provide increased safety through verification of the real identities of online traders. Last but not least, the legislation on digital services establishes simple and clear ways for reporting illegal content, products, or services on online platforms. As Romania’s National Digital Services Coordinator, ANCOM ensures that Romanian users benefit from these positive effects introduced by the European Regulation.
The Regulation guarantees, inter alia:
- an easy way to report illegal content, goods or services.
- transparency in advertising;
- a ban on certain types of targeted advertising (e.g., using sensitive data or data belonging to minors);
- an obligation for platforms to design their services so as not to deceive, manipulate, distort or otherwise affect users’ ability to make free and informed decisions;
- simplified terms and conditions for service use.