Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not exactly considered “new” any longer and while there are already many publications on all the specific requirements under data protection law and how AI may disrupt (or not) data protection compliance, now we have the first court decision in Germany that addresses the training of AI.

In a landmark ruling with far-reaching implications for data protection, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (Oberlandesgericht Köln)(1) dismissed an urgent motion filed by the Consumer Advice Center of North Rhine-Westphalia (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen)(2) against Meta Platforms Ireland Limited(3) on 23 May 2025.(4) The court’s decision clears the way for Meta to use publicly shared data from Facebook and Instagram to train its AI models – without requiring explicit user consent. The case marks the first time a German court has ruled on the legality of using personal data for AI training.