Complaints and takedown process

Draft for solicitor review, 1 October 2026. Not legal advice and not yet in force. Text in [square brackets] is a placeholder or a question for the solicitor.

This page explains how anyone, including hospitals, practices and other institutions, can report content on TraineeTrust, how we decide, and how to challenge a decision. It is our notice-and-action mechanism under Article 16 of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and part of our Terms of use.

1. What you can report

• Unlawful content, for example a review you believe is defamatory, discloses confidential patient information, or breaches someone's privacy.
• Content that breaks our Community guidelines, for example a named or identifiable person, patient details, or an allegation of wrongdoing.
• A fake review, for example one you believe was not written by a doctor who worked in the post.

You cannot use this process to remove a review because it is negative, or to find out who wrote it.

2. How to report

Members can use the "Report" link next to the review or response, or the form at [/report]. During the pilot only approved members can see the site, so anyone else, including institutions, should email [report email]. Please include:

1. the link to the review or response (each has its own link);
2. the exact words you are concerned about;
3. why you believe they are unlawful or break the guidelines, with any supporting facts;
4. your name and email address; and
5. a statement that you believe in good faith that the information in your report is accurate and complete.

Institutions should also say which institution they act for and their role. Reports about child sexual abuse material may be made without giving a name.

3. What happens next

A decision is made by a person, not by an automated tool. Where we hide or remove content, the reviewer receives a statement of reasons under Article 17 of the DSA: what we did, the facts we relied on, whether the decision was based on law or on our guidelines, and how to challenge it.

We aim to make decisions in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective way. If a report is urgent, for example a review that names a patient, we act on it the same working day.

4. Challenging a decision

Internal review. Either side can ask for one internal review of the decision within 6 months, by replying to the decision email or with the complaint form. A different senior moderator who was not involved looks at it again and replies within 14 days. [Solicitor: Article 20 DSA requires this for online platforms; confirm whether it applies to us and keep it anyway as good practice.]

Out-of-court dispute settlement. You can refer a dispute about our decision to a dispute settlement body certified under Article 21 of the DSA. [Add certified bodies when known.]

Regulator. You can complain to Coimisiún na Meán, the Irish Digital Services Coordinator, at www.cnam.ie. For privacy complaints, see our Privacy notice.

Courts. Nothing here stops anyone going to court.

5. Institutions

Hospitals, GP practices and other employers have three options, in the order we suggest:

1. Respond publicly. A verified institution account can post one response under any review of its posts, for example to explain what has changed. This is often the quickest and fairest route. Institution accounts are not offered during the pilot.
2. Report the review through this process if you believe it is unlawful or breaks the guidelines.
3. Go to court if you are not satisfied. We keep the relevant records and comply with court orders.

What we will never do for any institution:

• tell you who wrote a review, except where a court orders it;
• accept payment, advertising or any other benefit to remove, reorder or hide reviews or change scores;
• rewrite a review.

6. Court orders and legal claims

When we receive a court order or a legal claim about content, we preserve the review, its history and the reviewer's identity in a restricted store until the matter is resolved, even if the reviewer deletes their account. We comply with valid orders of an Irish court, including an order to identify the author of an anonymous post. Where the law allows, we tell the reviewer before disclosing.

Orders from authorities to act against illegal content (DSA Article 9) or to provide information (Article 10) go to [authority contact email]. We confirm receipt and tell the authority what we did.

7. Threats to life or safety

If we become aware of information suggesting a criminal offence involving a threat to someone's life or safety, we report it promptly to An Garda Síochána, as Article 18 of the DSA requires.

8. Complaints about us

If you are unhappy with how we handled anything else, such as your account or verification, email [support email]. We reply within 14 days.

9. Misuse of this process

If someone often sends reports that are clearly unfounded, we may stop processing their reports for a period after warning them. If a reviewer often posts content that is clearly unlawful, we apply the strikes in the guidelines. [DSA Article 23.]

10. Records and transparency

We keep a log of every report, decision and reason. Each year we publish a transparency report with the number of reports received, how many led to action, the reasons, and our average response times. [Solicitor: Articles 15 and 24 DSA; confirm what applies if we are a micro or small enterprise.]

Annex: report form fields