On June 6, 2024, the 4th Chamber of the Stralsund Regional Court issued a ruling on the civil law consequences of the unsolicited sending of text messages with pornographic content, photos of a male member and a masturbation video.

Key Facts

Stralsund Regional Court ruled on 06.06.2024 on the civil law consequences of sending unsolicited text messages.
The plaintiff, known from a TV series and social media, was the target of the harassing messages.
The defendant sent offensive messages and photos via the Instagram platform.
A masturbation video was also sent without any prior contact.
The plaintiff demanded € 10,000.00; the court awarded her € 4,000.00.
The defendant has already received a penalty order of € 2,400.00 for the incidents.
In total, the defendant's costs to date amount to over € 12,500.00.

The plaintiff has been known to a wide audience for some time through appearances in a television series and several social media appearances.

In spring 2023, the defendant, who was 23 years old at the time, sent the plaintiff, who was also of legal age, three text messages in response to various Instagram stories with the wording “Fuck me bby”, “Press your ass to my cock” and “Between your tits squirt”.

Two months later, the defendant sent the plaintiff five photos with pictures of an exposed penis in various stages of erection.

A further two months later, the defendant sent the plaintiff a video lasting just over a minute, consisting of a collage of repetitions of images of the plaintiff, his own penis photos and his own masturbation video. There was no contact between the plaintiff and the defendant at any time.

The plaintiff sought monetary compensation in the amount of € 10,000.00. She was awarded a sum of € 4,000.00 by the regional court. The judgment of the regional court is not yet final.

Furthermore, the Stralsund district court issued a legally binding penalty order of € 2,400.00 against the defendant in October last year as a result of the incidents. In further proceedings before the Regional Court, the defendant was prohibited from such conduct under threat of a fine or imprisonment.

As a result, the defendant must also pay the court costs and the costs of the plaintiff’s lawyer for the respective proceedings. The widespread behavior cost the defendant more than € 12,500.00 (according to the current status).

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.

Tags: Instagram Judgment Lawsuit Media