Overview

• The Oberlandesgericht Köln rejected an injunction from the Verbraucherzentrale NRW, allowing Meta to use public Facebook and Instagram posts for AI training starting May 27.
• The court upheld Meta’s reliance on GDPR's 'legitimate interest' clause, stating that the data use serves a legitimate purpose and less intrusive alternatives are not viable.
• Meta has provided users an opt-out option via an online form until May 26, after which past public posts will be included in training datasets.
• Consumer groups, including Noyb, criticize the opt-out model and are preparing broader legal challenges in Germany and across the EU.
• Meta emphasized that only publicly available content will be used, excluding private messages and minors' data, with personal identifiers stripped from the datasets.