How to submit your complaint
Please find below illustrations on important web services about which you may file complaints.
What happens to my complaint?
When you submit a complaint to the „Internet-Beschwerdestelle.de“, it is judicially examined at first. If the reported content violates relevant Youth Protection or Criminal law, the operators of "internet-beschwerdestelle.de" can initiate further steps to remove the content:
Content providers are directly contacted and requested to adjust the reported content. Alternatively, the hosting provider can be asked to remove the subject matter. In serious cases, the complaint can be anonymized and forwarded to the appropriate public agency.
Complaints about illegal online content that is not located in Germany are transferred to the responsible INHOPE hotline by eco and FSM.
In principal, "internet-beschwerdestelle.de" processes complaints according to the following delegation of tasks and responsibilities:
FSM:
- World Wide Web (in cooperation with eco when pertaining an eco member)
- Mobile Content & Apps
- Chat
Beschwerdeordnung FSM e. V.
eco:
- Newsgroups
- Spam / E-Mail
- Discussion forums
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
Rules of procedure eco e. V.
Internet services
The World Wide Web is the most famous internet service. You have access to about 4 billion individual web sites via the www. These sites can be accessed through their addresses (URL=uniform resource locator).
File a complaint about WWW
Electronic mail makes data transfers from one computer to another as fast as a flash. All you need is an email address.
Over the last few years, the portion of unsolicited, so-called spam emails has extremely increased in the total of email traffic.
File a complaint about Email
File sharing networks make it possible to offer files or download data via the internet. The according data is not stored in only one server but it is distributed among the computers of every user, which is called peer-to-peer.
File a complaint about file sharing networks
There are privately arranged as well as public chats. The latter are often classified by topics. You sign up to a chat room if you wish to talk about certain issues or if you would like to get in touch with other people. Chats provide the possibility to talk to people worldwide and in real time.
File a complaint about chats
Newsgroups are public forums for which you do not have to sign up. They are comparable with internet bill-boards, where everyone may present his/her opinion.
Some Newsgroups contain scientific contents created and used by specialists, others are just entertaining.
File a complaint about newsgroups
Discussion forums are communication platforms where people can exchange their ideas and thoughts. Users may post individual articles in a forum.
Unlike in chats, communication does not take place in real time.
File a complaint about discussion forums
Mobile content means content that is spread via internet, which is publicly accessible and can be received by a mobile end device, e.g. mobile phones.
File a complaint about mobile content
In this area you may file a complaint about content which does not fit in any of the above-mentioned internet services.
File a complaint about miscallenous content
