Meta Faces EU Legal Action Over Mass Censorship of Queer Communities
A coalition of Dutch and European organisations sent a formal legal demand to Meta on 20 May, escalating toward a European class action over the mass removal of Instagram accounts belonging to queer and cultural communities. The letter, issued in Amsterdam by Dutch law firm Bureau Brandeis, argues that Meta’s actions violate European fundamental rights law, the EU Digital Services Act, the GDPR, and Dutch anti-discrimination law. It is believed to be the first time the DSA has been used to challenge discriminatory content moderation by a Very Large Online Platform.
The coalition — Bits of Freedom, Repro Uncensored, COC Netherlands, BUTT Magazine, Club Church, The Queer Agenda, Tillatec, Sauna Nieuwezijds, Free Willie Amsterdam, Striptopia, the Queer Gallery, and No Limits! Art Castle — argues that Meta removed accounts “without sufficient notice targeting organisations and individuals within the queer community” and that the removals “systematically exclude queer communities from public debate and eliminate their access to the public sphere.”
Several organisations report their accounts were removed without explanation, while others were allegedly flagged under categories such as “human exploitation” or “account integrity” despite operating as long-established cultural institutions, publications, and community spaces. In multiple cases, the removal of one account triggered the automatic deletion of affiliated and personal accounts run by the same individuals. Some users were told reinstatement would only be possible through court proceedings, a statement that now looks to be somewhat prophetic.
“Removing queer accounts without reason and warning constitutes a violation of European law,” said Minke Gommer, senior lawyer at Bureau Brandeis. “Platforms are not allowed to structurally exclude minority groups from public debate.
Repro Uncensored documented more than 130 reports of accounts censored globally in April 2026 alone, the majority involving Instagram inside the European Union. The wave follows the pattern set out in the organisation’s December 2025 joint investigation with The Guardian, which recorded over 210 incidents of removals, shadow bans, and severe restrictions affecting more than 50 organisations worldwide last year. “When platforms can make organisations, knowledge, and entire communities disappear without explanation or meaningful recourse, it leads to digital ostracisation that undermines civic participation and erodes our democracies,” said Martha Dimitratou, Repro Uncensored’s founder and executive director. “If left unaddressed, these patterns will strengthen the rise of anti-gender and anti-rights movements.”
Bureau Brandeis is the same firm that beat Meta at the Amsterdam District Court in October 2025, in the first private enforcement of the Digital Services Act. Meta appealed, then withdrew the vast majority of its appeal at the last minute, conceding the DSA violation. In March 2026, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals raised the potential penalty against Meta from €5 million to €10 million. Bits of Freedom policy advisor Lotje Beek invoked the precedent set by the case, saying: “European platform regulation exists precisely to prevent a dominant company like Meta from carrying out far-reaching content moderation without safeguards — which is exactly what happened with the affected accounts. Now that Meta is failing to comply with the law, we will have to ask the courts to enforce it.”
Caspar Pisters, head of communications for Club Church, speaking on behalf of affiliated organisations Free Willie, Sauna Nieuwezijds, and StreetHeart Festival, all of which had their accounts and back-up accounts removed in recent weeks, said legal action is the only logical step. “We have our accounts back, but for how long? Some of our accounts were deleted already three times. Meta proves zero insight into why they were removed in the first place, it does not give any beforehand warning, it doesn’t have a proper option for appealing. We would not accept this kind of discriminatory behavior in an offline setting, we won’t tolerate it online, either.”
COC Netherlands, established in 1946 and the oldest lgbti+ organisation in the world, joined the case as a representative of Dutch queer communities. “These actions by Meta disproportionally affect our queer communities and other minorities,” said COC spokesperson Philip Tijsma. “They limit our options to meet, speak out, be visible and quite frankly: be ourselves. We won’t just let that happen. We will always stand up for ourselves and never let our communities be silenced or erased.”
The coalition notes that while many accounts were eventually reinstated following widespread media attention and public pressure, organisations continue to face uncertainty and fear of repeated removals. The coalition is demanding that Meta refrain from future unlawful removals and shadowbanning, provide clear explanations for past enforcement actions, disclose whether automated decision-making systems were involved, and establish direct human points of contact for affected organisations.