Digital Services Act
This page outlines information published by AOL Media LLC ("AOL" ) in connection with Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act or "DSA") in respect of the following services provided to users in the European Union: AOL news comment sections, AOL Mail, and AOL Search.
Legal representative in the EU
The DSA requires AOL to designate a legal representative in one of the EU Member States in which it provides services. The following are the details of AOL's legal representative:
| Name | Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A. |
|---|---|
| Postal address | Via Nino Bonnet 10, 20154, Milan, Italy |
| Email address | dsa-representative@bendingspoons.com |
| Telephone number | +1 681 381 3307 |
Single point of contact
The DSA requires AOL to designate a single point of contact to enable direct communication with users in the EU and the European Commission, EU Member States' authorities, and the European Board for Digital Services regarding the application of the DSA.
These parties may contact: aol-legal-counsel-function@bendingspoons.com. Communications with this e-mail address should be in English.
AOL news comment sections
AOL provides news comment sections that allow users to post comments on news articles published on the AOL service. AOL considers that its news comment sections constitute a hosting service within the meaning of Article 3(g)(iii) of the DSA. In addition to its obligations as hosting service provider, AOL has also adopted additional content moderation and transparency measures for its comment sections to ensure a safe and transparent environment for users, as described below.
Average monthly active recipients in the EU
8,540
Average monthly active recipients of the service in the EU (updated every 6 months)
Content moderation
We prohibit certain content in our comment sections, including illegal content and content that violates our Community Guidelines. See in particular our Terms of Service.
We moderate content of AOL comment sections using automated tools and human review, through third-party moderation services.
We moderate comments in the following ways:
- Reviewing notices submitted by users via the "Report" function;
- Own-initiative monitoring using automated tools provided by our third-party moderation partner; and
- Human review of content flagged by automated tools or user reports.
Where we remove or restrict a user's comment, and where we have the user's electronic contact information, we will provide a statement of reasons (see below).
Statement of reasons
Where we have your electronic contact information, we will provide you with a statement of reasons if we impose any of the following restrictions on you because any content you have provided is illegal or violates our Community Guidelines:
- Any restrictions on the visibility of any content provided by you, including removal of your comment, disabling access to it, or demoting your content;
- Suspension or termination of the provision of the service to you in whole or in part; or
- Suspension or termination of your account.
Appealing a decision
If you receive a statement of reasons, or you submitted a report and disagree with our response, you can submit an appeal within 6 months of receiving the decision or statement of reasons. To submit an appeal, use the link included in our response or statement of reasons and provide any details you believe are relevant.
We will consider your appeal in a timely and diligent manner and, where your appeal contains sufficient grounds, we will reverse our decision. You will be notified of the outcome with a reasoned decision.
After we have informed you of our decision on your appeal, you may also seek out-of-court dispute settlement with a body that has been certified in accordance with Article 21 of the DSA.
Misuse of the notice and appeal system
To help us maintain a safe and useful reporting system, please report only content that you genuinely believe violates our Community Guidelines or applicable law. Reports should be made in good faith and not for the purpose of harassment or bad-faith interference with other users. We reserve the right to take appropriate action, including restricting access to the reporting function, in respect of users who repeatedly submit clearly baseless reports or appeals. A clearly baseless report or appeal is one that is obviously unfounded without any substantive analysis being required to reach this conclusion.
Transparency report – Comment sections
In accordance with Article 15 of the DSA, a copy of AOL's Transparency Report in respect of comment sections can be found:
The current report covers the period 17 February 2025 - 31 December 2025. For continuity and transparency purposes, and given that AOL formed part of the Yahoo group during that period, the information above is therefore as reported by Yahoo International Limited and reflects the pre-acquisition operational setup. Future reports will be produced directly by AOL and will reflect AOL’s own operational setup as a standalone service provider..
AOL Mail
AOL Mail allows users to send, receive, and store electronic mail messages. Users' mail content is private and is not publicly accessible. AOL Mail constitutes a hosting service within the meaning of Article 3(g)(iii) of the DSA We do not curate, rank, or recommend mail content to other users.
Safety and Security
We do not engage in own-initiative content moderation of mail content within the meaning of the DSA.
We do, however, take steps to protect the safety and security of the mail service, including identifying accounts used for fraudulent purposes or in violation of applicable law and/or our Terms of Service.
Transparency report – Mail
In accordance with Article 15 of the DSA, a copy of AOL's Transparency Report in relation to AOL Mail can be found:
The current report covers the period 17 February 2025 - 31 December 2025. For continuity and transparency purposes, and given that AOL formed part of the Yahoo group during that period, the information above is therefore as reported by Yahoo International Limited and reflects the pre-acquisition operational setup. Future reports will be produced directly by AOL and will reflect AOL’s own operational setup as a standalone service provider..
AOL Search
The search function available on AOL.com redirects users to Yahoo Search (search.yahoo.com), a service operated by Yahoo Inc. Yahoo Inc. bears the DSA obligations in respect of that search service. Yahoo's DSA information is available at Yahoo's DSA transparency page.