The Berlin Court of Appeal on Tuesday, February 17th ordered X to grant access to public data to two German-based civil society organizations seeking information related to Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 12th.
The ruling follows a legal challenge brought by Democracy Reporting International (DRI), supported by the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), after the social media platform refused to hand over the requested data.
DRI had initially sought access in November, arguing that the information was necessary to assess risks such as disinformation and foreign interference. After X denied the request, the case was escalated to a higher Berlin court, which ruled that the platform must comply under the terms of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The legislation grants researchers the right to access data held by larger platforms, such as X.
The case has drawn sharp criticism from the conservative think tank MCC Brussels, which warned that EU-funded organisations gaining access to sensitive election-related data risk undermining national sovereignty. In a statement posted on X, MCC Brussels warned that DRI receives significant funding from the EU and the German government, arguing that the lawsuit represents external interference rather than transparency.
Just a week ago, MCC Brussels announced the launch of the Democracy Interference Observatory (DIO), a new initiative aimed at exposing and analyzing how the European Union and EU-linked actors influence national elections across Europe.
