Civil society must develop and act in accordance with legal norms and requirements. And even in the social sphere there is no point in deviating from this principle.
In this regard, every company or other legal entity that provides services to citizens in the field of communications and Internet content must have a special body (department) that will regulate the flow of applications or requests to eliminate violations of human rights and freedoms.
In the future, controversial issues are resolved either through an electronic appeal only, or through an administrative procedure, which needs to be considered in more detail.
Complaint about a group on VK.com
The social network VKontakte is known for its simple interface. In this connection, several types of groups and communities are created on its basis every day. Each of them has its own theme and area of activity.
Multinationality and various social disunity forces group administrators to post content in accordance with certain requirements, which are also spelled out in the Constitution and equivalent Federal legislative acts.
If a violation of the law is “obvious,” the initial task of the person whose rights have been violated is to demand the removal of information from public access . A tool that allows you to restore a violated right is a complaint.
An organization such as the VKontakte network does not require special legal skills, but only an understanding of what right was violated and what actions caused such a fact.
Drawing up a complaint
The text of the complaint is drawn up independently, based on the current situation. It is enough to indicate the violation, the date and the Internet link (location) of the offense.
The principle of constructing the text of the complaint looks like this:
- Greetings;
- Submission of information about the individual - the owner of the Internet page (since the data may differ from those that the person indicated during registration actions);
- Description of the situation;
- Violated rule of law;
- Possible ways to solve it;
- A person’s request to the administration to take specific actions to block and delete information.
This structure can vary and be modified at the request of the citizen filing the appeal. There are no direct instructions in the law, which confirms the possibility of freedom of speech.
How to write?
There are several options for filing a complaint:
- Based on the graph of the existing form;
- Free text appeal;
- Search for similar requests on various sites or forums.
There are also complaints filed directly against a group or community or about content distributed by the latter. In the first case, the entire page and access to it will be blocked, and in the second, only the information filled with it, which, in the opinion of citizens, violates their rights.
Where to file a complaint on VKontakte?
In order to file a complaint against a public page or group, you must have the grounds that are given in the set of rules of the social network. You can compose and write a request while in the status of a registered user. On the main page, open the “Help” section, which is located in the upper right part, next to the “Log out” button.
After you click on it, a dialog box will appear in front of you, where you will be offered several options for contacting. Select "None of these options apply."
Next, information will appear about the estimated time for consideration of the application. Click “Next”, in the form that opens – “Ask a question”, where you can enter the text of the message, attach the information on the basis of which you are applying (link to the user page), where unlawful actions were noticed towards you or other people. It is also necessary to express wishes for influence, namely that social network agents: block, delete or issue a warning to violators.
After the specified time has passed, the violation request will be processed by a technical support moderator. The administration will notify the person about the decision made.
How to submit?
When the text is written, the reason for blocking seems quite reasonable; it is necessary to move on to active actions, that is, sending the collected information to the administration of the social network.
This can be done using several techniques:
- Sending a letter to a general email;
- Submitting a feedback form in the “Help” section;
- Link in the upper right corner (directly on the group page or individual post with attached information).
Each of these methods works fully, so there are no priority methods; everyone chooses the most suitable one for themselves, based on their own preferences.
How to send?
To do this, you need to enter a specialized section of the site called “Help” and fill in the appropriate fields, such as:
- Applicant's name;
- Link to content;
- Reason for blocking.
For convenience, the last paragraph is divided into several subgroups that reflect each violated rule of law:
- Spam – that is, messages of an advertising nature, aimed at excessively attracting attention;
- Personal insult;
- Humiliation of honor and dignity;
- Antisocial behavior;
- Obscene video – this problem is especially of concern to parents whose children use social networks for entertainment or communication.
Each reason must be supported by evidence. Otherwise, the complaint will be left without consideration due to the lack of direct evidence.
How to complain about a VKontakte page
I suggest you go through the whole process using a real example. They often write me messages of a pornographic nature, with offers to join the corresponding group. Let's try to block such comrades. Here is an example of such a message.
As you can see - outright spam. Well, it's time to block such a user.
Let's go to his page.
As you can see, it is clearly fake, and was created to invite people to dubious groups. Let's scroll down a little. We need an additional menu - it is located after the main information blocks.
Here we fill in the following points:
- Reason for sending a complaint
- A comment
- If you wish, you can immediately block user access to your page. To do this, check the box next to the appropriate item.
After this, click the “Submit” button.
You will receive a message indicating that your complaint has been successfully accepted for consideration. All that remains is to wait for the decision of the moderators.
Please note that if you have checked the box to block user access to your page, he will no longer be able to bother you. Even if the moderators do not consider your arguments correct and do not block it.
Where to file a complaint?
If citizens have discovered a group on the Internet that in one way or another violates their rights and freedoms, they should contact the following organizations without violating the sequence:
- Site administrator;
- Communications Supervision Authority;
- Prosecutor's Office;
- Judicial authorities.
If this sequence is neglected, the application may be ignored, with the applicant being advised that an amicable resolution directly with the site owner is initially required.
Making a complaint
The procedure is as follows:
- Collect information on the scammer: his ID, print a copy of the correspondence, indicate the scammer’s phone number, if possible.
- Collect documents confirming the fact of transfer of funds.
- You can first search the social network for other users who have suffered from the actions of scammers in order to collect more evidence.
- Go to the police and write a statement.
- Receive a second copy with a stamp indicating the incoming number and registration date.
The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Rosomnadzor) is a government body that receives complaints about VKontakte groups, Odnoklassniki and other Internet resources. It is especially relevant to contact an authorized authority if a VK user violates the rights of the author of works of literature or art. On the official page of the department, you can send an online request where you need to clarify the information:
- last name, first name and patronymic of the applicant;
- registration address;
- the reason for filing the complaint;
- text of the appeal;
- screenshots taken from VKontakte pages or other resources.
But electronic appeal may not give the desired effect. To guarantee a response from a government agency, it is safer to send a written application.
There are several structures where you can complain. A complaint is the correct form of notification that information has been disseminated that is contrary to the law. Putting a “like” is not only wrong, but also dangerous. There are real life examples of people going to jail for reposting. A high-profile criminal case took place against Ekaterinburg resident Evgenia Chudnovets, who worked as a kindergarten teacher. She shared a video where children's camp counselors abused a child. The video had an effect. On its basis, a criminal case was opened, the counselors were deprived of their freedom, but Evgenia herself faces criminal punishment for disseminating information that is contrary to the law.
Social media content needs to be handled correctly. If you need to draw the attention of law enforcement agencies, it is better to make an official statement than to repost the information. You can quickly send a complaint to the technical support service. If moral and material damage is caused, then a statement must be submitted to law enforcement officials and the court.
Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date!
Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write your question in the form below:
Social networks have gained widespread popularity throughout the world over the past ten years. In our country, the social project of Pavel Durov, VKontakte, is of greatest interest. A social network is a virtual world where there is an administration, users, communities, groups, etc. In every network, incl. and VKontakte there are a number of rules and regulations, violation of which, as in real life, entails punishment.
You can find out how to complain about a VKontakte group or an individual user from qualified lawyers who will answer all your questions in real time.
Each user request is reviewed by technical support representatives. If you have noticed a group, participant or community that is distributing defamatory information about a person, elements of pornography or other actions, you need to contact this service.
Reasons for contacting may be:
- disclosure of personal data of a user;
- photographs from a personal archive, the publication of which was not given permission by the copyright holder;
- slander;
- dissemination of information that threatens the security of the country or an individual (for example, terrorist activity, anti-Semitic, threat to human life and health, etc.);
- material that constitutes fraud or is associated with criminal activity.
Of course, the main reasons for applying are listed above. The complaint may be made for other reasons. The technical support agent plays the role of a judge and monitors law and order on the social network. Having considered the received complaint, the moderator will issue a verdict based on the results. Naturally, behind the agent’s “icon” there is a living person; accordingly, a decision on the complaint will be made based on the rules of “VKontakte” and the moral principles of the agent.
Therefore, if you were insulted or the rules were violated in some other way, you can safely contact a moderator.
A popular question from social network members is: how many signatures do you need to collect to block an account? VKontakte agents commented on this issue: Often, one appeal is enough if the reasons are convincing, but on average 10 appeals are needed to block or temporarily “freeze”.
Contact Roskomnadzor
If contacting the VKontakte administration did not effectively resolve the problem, it is possible to further forward the appeal to the supervisory authorities. This is the Office for Supervision of Communications (Roskomnadzor for short).
Its activities are aimed at regulating the activities of social networks, open and closed sites, applications and other channels for providing information..
Contacting such organizations requires more careful preparation of complaints and claims, since in the event of refusal of voluntary compliance with the instructions by site owners, the resolution of the dispute will be referred to the court for a more thorough investigation.
How many complaints does it take to block a VKontakte group?
One of the principles that the administrators of the social network VKontakte adhere to is the mass use or multiplicity of negative reviews.
That is, if there are many complaints about a group or community (more than ten from different users of pages that are not “fake”), this problem is put under special control. In this case, the result will be positive in almost 99% of cases.
This is especially true for videos containing signs of dissemination of racial hatred and hostility, child pornography or violence and other socially dangerous acts.
If you believe that your rights as a user of the VKontakte social network have been violated, be sure to use the feedback form and describe the reasons for your dissatisfaction. It is possible that you are not alone and the problem is more significant than the user thinks. That is why you should not remain silent and limit yourself to oral comments.
