US tech giant Meta can use Facebook and Instagram posts from EU users to train its artificial intelligence software Meta AI, a German court ruled on Friday.

The case before the Higher Regional Court in Cologne was brought by the consumer protection agency in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, accusing Meta of violating EU data protection rules.

From May 27, the US parent company plans to use public content including posts and comments made by adult users on Instagram and Facebook in the European Union to train its AI platform, unless users actively object.

Content posted by users under the age of 18 will not be used, according to Meta, which rejected that its plans would violate EU law.

“This training, which follows the successful launch of Meta AI in Europe last month, will better support millions of people and businesses in the EU by teaching AI at Meta to better understand and reflect their cultures, languages and history,” the company said in an announcement on April 14.

“People’s interactions with Meta AI – like questions and queries – will also be used to train and improve our models,” it added.

Presiding Judge Oliver Jörgens on Friday ruled that the consumer association’s complaint was unfounded.

The court found that the use of the data for AI training was lawful even without user consent as Meta is pursuing a legitimate purpose with the use of the data which cannot be achieved by other, less intrusive means.