Too Difficult to Report? User Experiences With DSA and Community Guideline Reporting on Social Media

ABSTRACT

User reporting of norm‐violating content on social media is a crucial component of platform governance. While prior research has explored the motivations behind reporting—often drawing on the Bystander Intervention Model —less attention has been paid to how users navigate the processes involved. This process‐oriented perspective has become particularly important in light of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which enables dual reporting pathways for community guideline violations and illegal content. Using a mixed‐methods approach that combines qualitative interviews ( N  = 20) and a large‐scale survey experiment ( N  = 2040), we examine user reporting behavior and the challenges encountered across social media platforms in Germany. Our findings indicate that factors such as users' internal reporting efficacy and the perceived consequences of norm‐violating content are associated not only with prior reporting behavior but also with fewer difficulties during the reporting process. However, DSA‐aligned reporting pathways introduce substantial procedural barriers, including classification complexity and data disclosure requirements. Compared to community‐guideline reporting, navigating DSA‐aligned pathways results in higher abandonment rates, more frequent misclassification, and increased self‐reported difficulties. These insights highlight the need for user‐centered reporting systems that are accessible and aligned with regulatory standards, providing guidance for platform design and policy implementation.