SOMI Foundation Maintains Standing in TikTok Proceedings in the Netherlands and Expands Actions Across Europe

Rotterdam (Netherlands), October 7th, 2025 – The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has confirmed that Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (SOMI) has standing in the collective proceedings against TikTok in the Netherlands.

Oct Tue 07 2025

With this appeal, SOMI successfully challenged the decision regarding the immaterial damages, which concern the emotional and privacy harm suffered by users due to TikTok’s unlawful data practices. SOMI firmly believes that the District Court of Amsterdam had wrongly ruled that immaterial damages must be assessed on an individual basis. The Court of Appeal has now acknowledged that such damages can indeed be claimed collectively on behalf of all affected users. This recognition is a significant step forward in ensuring that victims of privacy violations receive justice and fair compensation for the harm done to their privacy and fundamental rights.

While the Court has decided not to appoint SOMI as the Exclusive Representative in this case, this decision does not affect SOMI’s broader mission to defend consumers’ digital rights across Europe. The ruling allows SOMI to remain an active party in the ongoing litigation, ensuring that the voices and interests of our participants continue to be represented effectively. SOMI congratulates Stichting Take Back Your Privacy and Stichting Massaschade & Consument on this important judgment and looks forward to continued collaboration in the shared effort to hold TikTok accountable.

SOMI continues to lead efforts to hold TikTok accountable throughout the European Union. Alongside its ongoing proceedings in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, SOMI is building a Europe-wide framework to protect privacy and ensure that BigTech companies comply with their obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Digital Services Act (DSA), AI Act and consumer protection law.

Next steps

Following this ruling, a period of standstill will commence to allow for settlement negotiations with TikTok. If a settlement is reached, it will require court approval. If no settlement is reached, legal proceedings will have to continue to enforce compensation for the TikTok users.

SOMI will continue to inform and represent its participants during this next stage and remain committed to pursuing justice and fair compensation for all affected TikTok users in the Netherlands and beyond.