Online defamation or harassment: what to do
False accusations, insults, repeated messages against you? Platforms ban harassment, and the law punishes defamation and cyberstalking. Time limits to act can be short depending on the country: don’t wait.
What to do first
- Note the date of the first publication: that is what counts for time limits, not the day you found it.
- Take complete screenshots: page address, date, account name, full text.
- Report the posts to the platform (harassment, hate speech, false information about a person).
- If it continues or is serious, report it to the police. Helplines for your country are on our Urgent help page.
By platform
- Facebook Report bullying, harassment or personal attacks
- Instagram Report bullying or abusive content
- WhatsApp European Union: report defamatory content
- TikTok Report harassment, attacks or doxing
- X (Twitter) Report abusive posts or an account
- YouTube Report harassment, insults or threats
- Snapchat Report bullying, harassment or defamation
- Telegram European Union: report illegal content (DSA)
- LinkedIn Report harassment on LinkedIn
- Reddit You’re being harassed or attacked on Reddit
- Google (Recherche) Legal removal request (defamation) for Google Search
What to avoid
- Don’t reply in the same tone: your replies can be used against you.
- Don’t delete the messages you received before taking screenshots.
Your remedies by country
- DSA: reporting illegal content to a platform (EU) In the European Union, any service that hosts content (social network, forum, sharing site…) must let you report illegal content online, examine your notice carefully and tell you its decision. It works for any content that breaks the law: intimate images, fake profiles, defamation, personal data…
- When a domain registrar ignores your abuse report: ICANN A .com, .net, .org or other generic-extension site is registered through a “registrar” (a domain name registration company). Its contract with ICANN requires it to receive abuse reports, investigate them and respond appropriately. If it does not, you can complain to ICANN.
- Fake profile or online impersonation: what to do in France Creating a fake profile in your name, or using your personal data to disturb your peace or harm your reputation, is a criminal offence in France (identity theft). You can have the platform remove the profile and file a police complaint.
- Online defamation in France: you only have 3 months to act In France, publicly accusing someone of a specific fact that harms their honour or reputation is defamation, including in an online review, comment or post. You can ask the platform to remove it, but legal action must be started within 3 months of the first online publication.
- GDPR: asking for your personal data to be erased In the European Union you can ask a website, company or service to erase data about you (photo, name, address, post…) in the cases set out in the GDPR. It must reply within one month, and it is free.
- Right to be forgotten: asking Google or Bing to delist a link In the European Union you can ask a search engine to stop showing, when people search your name, a link to a page about you. This is called “delisting”: the page stays on the original site, but becomes much harder to find.
If it doesn’t work
An official form can go unanswered or be wrongly refused. That’s not the end: there are other doors, heavier but effective — the company hosting the site, the company managing its domain name, the laws of your country, the data protection authority. That’s exactly what we do for you, with your agreement.
- Reporting to the platform
- A written request to the site owner
- The domain name registrar
- The hosting company
- Search engines
- The authority or the courts
Common questions
What is the difference between defamation and an insult?
Broadly, defamation accuses someone of a specific fact that harms their reputation. An insult is an offensive expression without a specific fact. The exact rules depend on each country.
Is there a deadline to act?
Yes, and it can be short. In France, for example, it is only 3 months from publication. Act quickly in any case.
This information helps you use your rights. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer.