- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Germany · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Court case 14 U 150/23 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2020)
Privacy enforcement record
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A court ruled that a social network temporarily deactivated a user's account without giving a reason after someone misused it. This matters because it highlights the importance of informing users before blocking their accounts and allowing them to respond.
What happened
The social network deactivated a user's account without prior notice after it was misused by a third party.
Who was affected
The user of the social network whose account was deactivated without notification.
What the authority found
The court found that the social network did not properly inform the user before blocking the account, which could breach their contract.
Why this matters
This case emphasizes that companies must communicate with users before taking actions like account deactivation. It sets a precedent for how companies should handle user accounts and notifications.
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Automated check recorded — 19 March 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, authority corrected.
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The controller operates a social network in Europe. The data subject has had a private account on this network since 2008. In September 2022 an unknown third party distributed child pornography - violating the controller's terms and conditions - using the data subject's account without authorisation. On 11 September 2022 the data subject's account was temporarily deactivated. The controller had not previously heard the data subject and initially did not give a reason for blocking . Due to the deactivation, the data subject was unable to use the network's functions. The data subject contacted the controller on 28 September 2022 and requested - inter alia - to restore the user account and remove the deletion and blocking notes from the data subject's user data record. On 1 October 2022, the account was reactivated. The blocking of the account and the deletion of the posts created by third parties are still recorded in the controller's data set. = The data subject claimed in the first instance that the deactivation of her account was unlawful but the regional court mostly rejected the action and the data subject appealed this decision requesting - inter alia - that # It is determined that the deactivation of the data subject's profile was in breach of contract. # The controller is ordered to correct the data subject's data stored by it so that all deletion and blocking notes are deleted from the user data record # The controller is ordered to refrain from blocking the data subject because of the publication of contributions or from deactivating her account for this reason without informing her in advance of the intended blocking/account deactivation and granting the opportunity to respond with a subsequent new decision. Alternatively, in the event that the court considers the above application to be too far-reaching: The controller is ordered to refrain from blocking the data subject on www.xxx.com without informing her in advance of the intended blocking/account dea
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case 14 U 150/23 in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Ruling Date
17 July 2020
Authority
DPA LGOffenburg
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case 14 U 150/23 - Germany (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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