The Regional Court Munich I held that the defendant could be held directly liable for defamatory statements generated by its AI Overview feature.
The court found that the AI-generated summaries were not merely neutral search results reflecting third-party content but constituted content attributable to the defendant because the AI independently selected, compile, and presented the information. The summaries falsely associated the plaintiffs with fraudulent schemes and other dishonest business practices.
The court concluded that these statements infringed the plaintiffs’ corporate personality rights and posed a continuing risk of reputational harm. The court emphasized that AI Overviews go beyond traditional search engine functions and therefore cannot benefit from the hosting privilege under Article 6(1) DSA applicable to ordinary search results. It further held that providers have a duty to review potentially unlawful AI-generated statements once notified, even where the illegality is not immediately obvious. Accordingly, it granted injunctive relief prohibiting further dissemination of the contested allegations.