Court: Snapchat chatbot can’t use children’s data for ads
The Cologne Regional Court barred the operator of the app from using data for advertising without an adequate legal basis.
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Snapchat faces a coercive fine of up to €250,000 if it does not comply with a ruling by the Cologne Regional Court — provided the ruling becomes final. The judges found that Snap clearly violated European data protection law through its terms of service governing the AI chatbot’s use of personal data. It failed to meet even the most basic requirements for lawful processing: Users were asked to to various kinds of data processing through prechecked boxes, including the processing of data to serve targeted ads.
The court also rejected the argument that the data had been used only for personalized advertising. That argument did not hold, the ruling says. Nor were the judges persuaded by the claim that users had effectively provided data for processing themselves: According to Snap Group’s own account, it uses all data included in chats to generate relevant ads. The data processing would remain unlawful even if the AI chatbot displayed a notice about data processing before users first used it. The company’s actions could not be justified by so-called legitimate interest, either.
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Consumer advocates took Snap to court
The judges in Cologne largely sided with the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, which had sought an injunction against Snap, the app’s operator. European data protection law expressly allows this, and authorized associations are now making use of the option more often. There are also further specific prohibitions on processing minors' data for advertising purposes, which are now part of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The law also imposes extensive due diligence obligations: very large platforms, such as Snapchat in particular, must identify and address specific risks to their users. However, the DSA had not yet taken effect when the Federation of German Consumer Organizations originally sent Snap a cease-and-desist notice. Snap can appeal the ruling issued in late September (case No. 33 O 120/24), the text of which is now available, to higher courts.
(wpl)
