Federal Court of Justice refers dispute over incorrect Künast citation to ECJ

Federal Court of Justice Legal dispute over incorrect Künast citation is submitted to the ECJ As of: October 27, 2026 • 4:35 p.m

The Federal Court of Justice has referred the Green Party politician Künast's legal dispute against Meta to the European Court of Justice. He should check whether the internet company is responsible for deleting an illegal meme.

In the legal dispute between the Green Party politician Renate Künast and the Facebook group Meta, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is supposed to clarify important legal questions. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) submitted the proceedings surrounding a so-called meme spread on the social media portal Facebook to the Luxembourg court for a preliminary ruling.

Federal Court of Justice hears lawsuit by Green Party politician Künast against Meta Kolja Schwartz, SWR, Mittagsmagazin, Das Erste, October 27, 2026 • 1:00 p.m. The meme combines a picture of Künast with a supposed quote: "Integration begins with Germans learning Turkish." The text-image combination was published and shared on Facebook in different versions. But Künast never said this sentence. She is suing Meta for an injunction and at least 10,000 euros in compensation.

The Federal Court of Justice is negotiating the legal dispute between the Green Party politician Künast and the Facebook Group. more

The “initial meme,” the message that was originally posted, has since been deleted. In court, Künast wants to ensure that Facebook has to delete all "core-identical" variants - without having to point out the individual Internet addresses to Meta. "Why? Because I can't do it," explained Künast in Karlsruhe. As a private individual, you cannot hire 30 people to search for similar posts worldwide. “That is simply the company’s job,” says Künast.

The Frankfurt/Main Higher Regional Court had confirmed the injunctive relief in 2024, but rejected a claim for damages.

Meta, on the other hand, argues that as a “neutral hosting service provider” you only have to remove specifically designated posts. There is no obligation to proactively check the Facebook platform for further posts that violate personal rights.

In the opinion of the EU Commission, the company behind Facebook and Instagram is not doing enough to protect minors. more

The BGH had already heard the lawsuit in February 2025, but then wanted to wait for a decision from the ECJ on a similar case. At the end of 2025, the ECJ ruled that operators of online marketplaces are responsible for the dissemination of personal data in advertisements published there. You must therefore check advertisements with sensitive data before publication and prevent such advertisements from being copied and unlawfully distributed on other websites.

In the new hearing, the BGH now expressed doubts as to whether these and other ECJ decisions can be transferred to the Künast lawsuit. The proceedings were again suspended pending a decision from Luxembourg.

This topic in the program: RBB24 Inforadio | News | Oct 27, 2026 | 10:44 amtagesschau.de | Künast against Meta - BGH submits to ECJ | Oct 27, 2026 | 3:48 p.m