proceedings against the disadvantages that would arise if the preliminary injunction were issued but the
constitutional complaint were to be unsuccessful in the principal proceedings. The challenged decisions concern
the granting of interim legal protection in a private law dispute between private actors relating to the scope of
rights of the operator of a social network, which has considerable market power in Germany. According to
established case-law of the Federal Constitutional Court, fundamental rights in such disputes may have a bearing
on such disputes by way of indirect horizontal effects. In this case, difficult legal questions are at issue; these
must be decided in principal proceedings. The weighing of consequences pursuant to § 32 of the Federal
Constitutional Court Act comes down in part in favour of the applicant. The consequences that would arise if the
applicant were denied access to its Facebook page but the respondent in the original proceedings were obliged
to reopen access clearly outweigh the consequences that would arise if the respondent in the original
proceedings were temporarily obliged to restore access but restricting access and disabling the profile were
justified. In any event, this applies to the period up to the European elections, for which the applicant has shown
particular urgency.
The exclusion from using the respondent’s services, which, according to the respondent’s advertising, are used
by more than 30 million people in Germany every month, denies the applicant an essential opportunity to
promote its political messages.