German court provisionally orders Google to block false AI Mode accusations

The Aachen court in Germany provisionally ordered Google to prevent its AI Mode from falsely attributing allegations of harassment and sexual assault against a secretary to a doctor, along with dismissal and a large severance payment. According to Beck-Aktuell, the events appeared to involve another former senior member of the same clinic, while the news reports used as sources did not name the doctor. Google reportedly rejected his removal request and could face a fine of up to €250,000 for each violation.

The court found that the generated texts violated the doctor’s general personality rights and treated the AI responses as Google’s own statements, even when they contained no links allowing the information to be checked. It relied on an earlier ruling by the Regional Court I of Munich, which took a similar view in a case involving two publishers; according to The Decoder, that case ended in an out-of-court settlement. The Aachen order is not final and Google may appeal it.