A TikTok video claiming climate change is a “hoax” has been ordered removed under the EU’s Digital Services Act despite being posted by a user outside the European Union.
The decision, issued by the certified out-of-court dispute body User Rights in July 2025, overturned TikTok’s original ruling to leave the content online, finding that it breached the platform’s misinformation policy. The case centred on a complaint brought by an EU-based organisation under the DSA framework.
User Rights said the video “violates TikTok’s Policy on Misinformation,” adding that it “contradicts the well-established scientific consensus on climate change.”
The content in question featured a man described as an alleged ‘geoscientist’ suggesting that climate change is primarily caused by the sun and describing concerns about it as “hysteria” and a “hoax.” The accompanying caption claimed that “climate change is fake,” alongside a flame emoji.
TikTok had initially declined to remove the video after it was reported in April 2025, informing the complainant that the content would remain on the platform. The decision was subsequently appealed to User Rights on the same day.
TikTok argued during the process that the content originated from outside the European Union and therefore fell outside the scope of the DSA’s dispute resolution mechanisms.
User Rights rejected that position, stating that the location of the person posting the content was not decisive under the legislation.
“It is irrelevant that the account through which the reported content was disseminated is not based in the European Union,” the body said.
“The decisive factor is not the residence of the person who owns the account through which the reported content was disseminated but that of the person submitting the complaint.”
The complainant in the case was based in France, bringing the dispute within the scope of the DSA.
User Rights found that TikTok had not provided sufficient detail about its fact-checking processes when it initially decided to leave the content online. It also said the platform failed to adequately justify its reasoning.
The body stated that the claims made in the video had already been assessed by recognised fact-checking organisations and found to be inaccurate.
“This narrative undermines the scientific consensus that human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions, are the main contributors to climate change,” the decision noted.
It added that TikTok’s own policies prohibit content which “undermines well-established scientific consensus,” including denying the existence of climate change or misrepresenting its causes.
On that basis, User Rights directed the platform to remove the video.
The case forms part of the EU’s broader Digital Services Act framework, which came into force to regulate online platforms and provide users with mechanisms to challenge moderation decisions.
According to a European Commission press release published in February 2026, nearly 50 million content moderation decisions have been reversed by platforms since the law was introduced. In the first half of 2025, 99% of moderation actions were taken under platforms’ own terms and conditions rather than to remove illegal content.
The same data shows that out-of-court settlement bodies such as User Rights overturned platform decisions in 52% of reviewed cases involving Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The DSA allows EU-based users or organisations to challenge decisions not only to remove content, but also decisions to leave content online, with dispute bodies empowered to assess compliance with platform policies.
Decisions such as this are likely to add to the existing tensions between Brussels and Washington over the reach of the Digital Services Act, particularly in cases where content moderation decisions affect users outside the European Union. US lawmakers have previously raised concerns that the legislation allows European standards on speech to influence global platform policies, including those applied to American users and companies.
A 2025 report by the House Judiciary Committee claimed the DSA could enable European authorities to shape content moderation practices worldwide, arguing that large platforms may adopt uniform global rules in order to comply with EU regulation.
The issue has been the subject of ongoing engagement between US and EU officials, with American representatives questioning the scope of the law and its potential implications for cross-border speech.