Etsy takes user safety and well-being seriously, and utilizes people, policies, and technology to enforce our content moderation policies. As a baseline, we work to remove harmful and fraudulent content from the platform. Beyond this, we also expect that content aligns with the mission of our brand, and we develop these policies with our company values in mind.
We strive to consistently enforce our policies and hold all members accountable to the same standards, in order to strengthen trust in our community and maintain the integrity of our platform. This goal is achieved through human review, automated tooling and processes, quick action upon notice of an issue, cooperation with experts and regulators, educating Etsy’s member community, and a continuing commitment to a thoughtful content moderation strategy.
1. Policies that apply to you and your content
2. How we detect violating content
3. How we enforce on violating content
4. Appeals
Policies that apply to you and your content
Etsy policies allow us to moderate Your Content, which includes listings, messages, reviews, images, videos, and all other content posted using Etsy Services (as these terms are defined by the Terms of Use). We retain the right to employ enforcement mechanisms on an account when these policies are not followed.
The following are key policies that apply, in whole or in part, to the content created by our members, including but not limited to:
- Seller Policy
- Buyer Policy
- Prohibited Items Policy
- Handmade Policy
- Vintage Items on Etsy
- Craft Supplies
- Anti-Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy
- Community Policy
- Intellectual Property Policy
If Etsy has reason to believe you, Your Content, or your use of the Services violate our Terms, we may deactivate Your Content to some or all users, or suspend or terminate your account (and any accounts Etsy determines is related to your account) and your access to the Services. Generally, Etsy will notify you that Your Content or account has been suspended or terminated, unless you’ve repeatedly violated our Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.
How we detect violating content
Our team uses a combination of automated systems and human review by enforcement specialists to detect and remove policy violating listings and shops. Violations may be brought to our attention in any of the following ways:
- Users: Listings can be reported directly to Etsy, such as through the ‘Report this Item to Etsy’ button on the bottom of each listing page.
- Regulatory reports: Inbound reports from government agencies help Etsy identify non-compliant sellers and content.
- Automated systems: Our automated systems attempt to identify violative content within seller content. Upon detection, the content is then reviewed and/or removed.
- Internal agents: Etsy internal agents may scan Etsy to identify violating content.
How we enforce on violating content
In order to keep Etsy safe and improve our services, we may take actions that restrict or suspend a shop, account, or listings content. We may also take actions on a user’s payment account by holding seller funds. If we determine that a flagged item violates Etsy’s policies, the enforcement action we take may vary based on the nature and severity of the violation. For example, we may suspend a seller’s payment deposit, deactivate a listing, restrict a listing from some or all members, or suspend an account. We may use a combination of manual enforcement and an automated system to send warning notifications and ultimately suspend the account of sellers who have repeatedly had listings deactivated due to policy violations.
Appeals
Etsy’s marketplace presents unique challenges for content moderation detection and enforcement. These challenges include the breadth of Etsy’s independent sellers’ offerings, the non-standardized nature of those items and the listing content used to describe them. Etsy iteratively updates its tools, controls, and enforcement to increase their effectiveness and reach, but occasionally, inaccurate enforcement actions are taken, policies are updated such that the enforcement outcomes change, or members have experienced extenuating circumstances. We provide routes to appeal for users whose listings or accounts have been impacted by Etsy enforcement actions.
Listing
Appeals for listing suspensions may be available in some cases. Learn more about listing removals.
Account
Accounts may be permanently or temporarily suspended.
If your account has been temporarily suspended, you’ll generally receive an email from Etsy explaining what happened and how to resolve the suspension. The suspension will remain until these issues are resolved. If you’re a seller, you may see a banner in your Shop Manager Dashboard. Learn more about temporary suspensions. If your account is permanently suspended, the email from Etsy will specify this. You may be able to appeal a permanent suspension once you resolve the issues that led to the suspension. The suspension will remain unless your appeal is accepted. Please note that you have 6 months from the day your account was suspended to file an appeal, and if you miss this window, your account will remain permanently suspended. Learn more about permanent suspension appeals.
Last updated on Jan 29, 2024