AG München 122 C 11829-24
The AG München held that a data subject whose data was processed by Facebook for personalised advertising was not entitled to non-material damages because they did not prove the suffering of any damage. (2025)
Case summary
- When the GDPR came into force, Facebook initially processed personal data for the placement of personalised advertising under the legal basis of Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract)
- From April 2023, Facebook changed the legal basis to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest)
- Facebook implemented the Pay or Ok model in November 2023 (also see: [[Years of inactivity in “Pay or OK” cases; noyb sues German DPAs]]). The data subject consented instead of paying.
- In January 2024, he demanded out-of-court compensation and deletion or restriction of his personal data, claiming unlawful processing (Art. 5 violation), received no answer.
- He claimed he was entitled to immaterial damages of €1,000 because receiving targeted advertising was unpleasant and scary.
- Also demanded deletion etc.
Result
- Case was unfounded.
- No non-material damages under Art- 82(1) GDPR because he couldn't present or provide proof of concrete damage.
- Mere infringement of the provisions of the GDPR is not sufficient to justify a claim for damages
What's confusing to me still: I have seen this case referenced to say that processing data for ads against your consent never constitute compensation for non-material damages, but what I read here seems more to be about the fact that he could not prove damages and suffering from the targeted ads. If he could have, seems like he may would have gotten it?
More: GDPRhub