Oberlandesgericht Dresden in Germany Orders Meta to Pay €1,500 in Four Parallel Judgments Over “Business Tools”
On February 4th, 2026, the Oberlandesgericht Dresden published a press release about four parallel judgments dated February 3rd, 2026 concerning Meta’s so called “Business Tools”.
Mar Thu 12 2026
The court ordered €1,500 per plaintiff in non-material (immaterial) damages and also ordered injunctive relief (Meta must cease further processing of personal data obtained via these tools for the plaintiffs).
The Dresden court’s reasoning is especially relevant for scalable claims. It found that the user-facing consent requirements were not met and that Meta could not rely on another GDPR justification. Importantly, it stated that the harm can be framed as loss of control over personal data that can create a feeling of comprehensive surveillance, and damages under GDPR Article 82 can be awarded even without proof of psychological impairment.
The court stated it is not necessary for the claimant to prove they visited specific third party websites that forwarded their data to Meta via these Business Tools. This does not necessarily mean the burden of proof fully flips in every respect, but it materially reduces claimant-side friction in practice.
The Dresden court did not admit revision (no appeal to the Federal Court of Justice via the ordinary route), and the press release notes the rulings are therefore legally binding (rechtskräftig).