A Dutch consumer rights body has filed collective lawsuits in Germany against TikTok and X over alleged violations of consumer protection and data privacy laws.
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The SOMI foundation filed four collective redress claims today on behalf of users of TikTok and X residing in Germany, claiming both social media platforms’ practices have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), the GDPR and the AI Act.
SOMI accuses TikTok of “deliberately manipulating young people” through their “addictive” algorithm and unlawful data processing. The NGO says TikTok’s practices are being challenged for the first time under the new AI Act, which bans manipulative, deceptive, and exploitative AI systems targeting children.
The NGO also claims that X has repeatedly failed to report major data breaches and processed users’ sensitive data in an unauthorised manner, violating the GDPR and DSA.
SOMI has accused both platforms of spreading disinformation and covert political influence during elections, undermining democratic processes.
The NGO’s lawsuits ask for a ban on processing sensitive data for personalised advertising, safeguards against harmful content for children and effective measures against disinformation.
SOMI also seeks compensation from €500 to €2,000 per TikTok user and €750 to €1,000 per X user for the alleged violations.
The NGO says that TikTok has around 20 million users in Germany and X has around 11 million.
SOMI’s counsel, Spirit Legal partner Peter Hense, told Lexology PRO: “these lawsuits seek to hold major platforms accountable for systemic violations that harm millions of German users”.
“This is a landmark case under the new EU Collective Redress Directive, demonstrating the increasing enforcement power of consumer rights organisations against tech giants”.
The NGO also noted that both companies are currently being investigated by the European Commission. The commission initiated proceedings against TikTok under the DSA in December 2024, focused on its election integrity during the Romanian presidential elections.
SOMI filed a similar collective action against TikTok in Belgium in October 2024, alleging that the company had violated consumer protection and data privacy laws over how it processed users’ data.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
Counsel to SOMI
Spirit Legal
Partner Peter Hense in Leipzig