SOMI Foundation Received Court of Appeal Verdict in German Collective Damage Lawsuit Against X (Formerly Twitter)

Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Berlin (Germany), May 1st, 2026 – On April 30th, the Court of Appeal (Kammergericht) in Berlin, Germany announced its verdict in the collective damage lawsuit filed by Netherlands-based non-profit foundation Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (SOMI) on February 5th, 2025 against X (formerly Twitter) in Germany for violations of data protection and privacy rights, including unlawful processing of sensitive personal data for profiling and microtargeting, lack of transparency in moderation practices and the amplification and monetization of harmful and hateful content.

May Fri 01 2026

The verdict has both important positive and negative outcomes for SOMI and its participants. The positive outcome is that it has been confirmed that as a Netherlands-based claim foundation, SOMI is fully admissible in court to represent German consumers in collective redress.

The negative outcome is that the court has ruled that – in summary – individual damages such as suffered by our participants may not be claimed in collective redress. This was also a verdict that the District Court of Amsterdam published in the collective claim of SOMI against TikTok on October 25th, 2023. This exact decision was subsequently overturned on October 7th, 2025 in the subsequent appeal by SOMI against TikTok at the Amsterdam Court of Appeals.

SOMI will also appeal this verdict in relation to X. We are confident that such an appeal ultimately shall prove to be successful. Collective redress can only be effective in practice if (large) groups of individuals are able to be represented collectively.

The European Union’s Representative Actions Directive obliges Member States to ensure a fully functioning redress mechanism, particularly in cases of large-scale data protection violations. In its current standpoint, this judgment therefore only reveals why the German VDuG (‘Act on Representative Actions for the Protection of Consumers’) could be found incompatible with EU law.

The Federal Court of Justice will now have the opportunity to provide for effective collective redress in Germany - or to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

We will also inform the European Commission of this decision with a view to initiating infringement proceedings under Article 258 TFEU concerning the shortcomings of German law and judicial practice. At present, SOMI directly represents hundreds of German participants in this collective lawsuit. Consequently, SOMI will also consider to represent these claimants in an equivalent number of individual damages claims. Individuals who have not yet registered for this claim in Germany can still do so via our website at twitterclaim.de.

SOMI also believes that the outcome of this verdict on this issue can be expected to be inconsistent with other collective cases it has currently underway in Denmark, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. In addition to ongoing cases against TikTok and Meta, SOMI expects a first-instance verdict from the Amsterdam District Court on May 27th, 2026 in its collective claim against X in the Netherlands.

Finally, this verdict shall have no negative consequences, but only positive implications, for our summary proceedings against X in France, which include claims under the DSA relating to hate speech and insufficient content moderation. The next phase in this jurisdiction against X is expected on September 16th, 2026.

About SOMI

Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (SOMI) is a non-profit organization focused on societal issues. SOMI is recognized by the European Commission as an organization active in data protection and data autonomy, and it advocates for the protection of fundamental rights for consumers and minors using a range of online services.

Through its app, SOMI gives individuals control over their personal data: “All your data. All yours.” The organization uncovers malpractices, informs the public, and supports those who have been harmed – including through collective actions, injunctions, and the enforcement of compensation claims. SOMI is currently investigating legal violations by numerous digital service providers and social media platforms.

SOMI has also introduced an app that assists consumers in requesting their personal data from online platforms. SOMI app is available for download on both the App Store and Google Play.