In Germany, the “X” platform could soon be blocked following a successful lawsuit by two left-wing lobby groups – and this before the federal election. The basis for the lawsuit is the EU law “Digital Services Act”.

Court ruling forces X to release data

On February 7, the Berlin Regional Court ruled in an expedited procedure that Platform X must grant the organizations “Democracy Reporting International” (DRI) and “Society for Civil Rights” (GFF) unrestricted access to all publicly available data – at least until after the federal election.

According to GFF, this is to investigate potential election interference on the platform . The lawsuit is based on the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires platforms to provide researchers with access to relevant data. The court justified its decision by saying that delays could jeopardize the research project.

X makes serious allegations against the court

The platform X, which is owned by Elon Musk , has appealed against the ruling and says the judge in charge is biased . In a statement, the company criticizes that its right to a fair trial has been violated and that users' freedom of expression has been threatened.

What is particularly problematic is that X was not given the opportunity to comment before the verdict was handed down. It is also pointed out that the judge who made the decision worked for the plaintiff organisation GFF in the past and has close ties to its lawyers.

Is there a risk of a complete blockage of X?

Since the ruling is directly related to the federal election, drastic measures could be imposed against X if the platform refuses to implement the order. It would even be possible for X to be completely blocked in Germany - a measure that is also provided for under the Digital Services Act. A similar case occurred a few months ago in Brazil, where X was blocked for a longer period of time.

Who is behind the lawsuit?

The lawsuit was initiated by the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) , an association that works closely with Democracy Reporting International . Interestingly, Ulf Buermeyer , the founder of the GFF, was himself a former judge at the Berlin Regional Court - the very court that has now decided on the lawsuit.

The GFF is heavily supported financially by the Open Society Foundation of US billionaire George Soros . Between 2021 and 2023, the association received around 1.6 million US dollars from these funds. The Luminate Foundation of Pierre Omidyar , the founder of eBay, is also one of the main donors. Luminate also finances the controversial research portal Correctiv .

The GFF board is heavily staffed with left-wing lawyers, including Dana-Sophia Valentiner and Nora Markard , who are committed to gender and equality law. The organization was founded in 2015 together with the Green Party politician Malte Spitz .