The demand for data in social media is huge. However, "big techs" do not want to pay for data transmission, as this is a matter for the network operators.
The Facebook parent company Meta $META (-2,76 %) is now being asked to pay in Germany.
In the dispute over usage fees, the Facebook parent company Meta must pay Deutsche Telekom around $DTE (+4,92 %) around 30 million euros according to a ruling.
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court confirmed a decision by the lower court - the Cologne Regional Court had set the payment obligation at around 20 million euros almost two years ago. As the appeal proceedings concerned a longer period of time - more than three years - Meta has now been ordered to pay around 30 million euros.
Meta had paid the Bonn-based company for years for the transportation of data - internet users were given access to the online services of Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp via the Telekom network. In 2021, Meta stopped these payments and Telekom went to court. It continued to transmit the data.
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court ruled that Telekom was right to demand payment from Meta subsidiary Edge Network for services rendered.
The Meta subsidiary had argued that there was no legally valid contract including an obligation to pay, for example because Telekom did not provide any service to Meta, but rather to the Telekom end customers who initiated the data transfer. Telekom only fulfills contractual obligations towards end customers when transmitting data.
》Harsh accusations from both sides《
In the legal dispute, both sides had accused each other of dominating the market and abusing their positions in violation of antitrust law. With regard to Telekom, however, the court did not accept this accusation in the proceedings. On the contrary, the judges found that the Meta subsidiary had considerable countervailing power, which ruled out the exploitation of a dominant market position in this case. Edge Network could have stopped transmitting data to the network operator Telekom and routed the data via Telekom's competitors instead, according to the chamber.
The fact that Telekom received money from Meta on a small scale until 2020 is to a certain extent a special historical case - other network operators such as Vodafone do not pay the Facebook parent company. The financial amount that Telekom is demanding ultimately only plays a minor role in the legal dispute. Much more important to the company is the court ruling that the network operator has a fundamental right to payment.
A Telekom spokeswoman said that the ruling had been acknowledged. "The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has confirmed our legal opinion that the transport of data traffic from Meta through our network constitutes a valuable service."
