EU online dispute resolution platform to be switched off in July

The European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform will be discontinued on July 20, 2025. As a result, the link"https://ec.europa.eu/odr", which has been included in many imprints since 2016 and which website operators who sell goods or services commercially in the EU are required to provide, has not been working for weeks. "Until March 20, 2025, it was still possible to submit complaints via the ODR platform," says the website of the European Consumer Center Germany (ECC), which consumers will be able to contact in the future.

In the imprint, a link must be referred to the platform by July 20. New complaints can then no longer be submitted. The website operators affected must therefore adapt their legal notice and terms and conditions and, depending on the sector, offer alternative options for settling consumer disputes.

For further support, users can turn to the national contact points – for Germany the aforementioned ECC. There is a list for consumers with arbitration bodies in Europe for various sectors. If users wish to "contest an unjustified restriction of their content or account by the provider of an online platform", they can turn to an out-of-court and certified dispute resolution body. The EU Commission provides another website for this purpose, which is updated regularly.

Export data before July

According to an EU regulation of December 2024 repealing EU Regulation No. 524 of 2013, all user information, including personal data, is to be deleted by July 20, 2025 at the latest. The EU Commission therefore recommends exporting all relevant data before July 19, 2025. Anyone who has difficulties downloading their data from the ODR platform can request help by sending an email to JUST-EC-ODR-REPEAL@ec.europa.eu.

The "Your Europa" website offers advice on consumer law issues.

(mack)