Meta unit loses appeal against Deutsche Telekom over network services

BERLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – A German court has ruled that Meta subsidiary Edge Network Services must pay Deutsche Telekom about 30 million euros ($35.71 million) that the German telecoms firm claims it is owed for providing network services used by the U.S company's platforms, a court spokesperson said on Tuesday. Telekom claims it is owed the payments for providing network services used by Meta platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram between March 2021 and August 2024. At issue is whether a binding contract existed during this period for the use of Telekom's "peering points", where data enters the company's network. Telekom argued that Edge continued to use its connection services after an original contract expired and fed in large amounts of data, which it said constituted a new, paid contract. Edge argued that both companies have established a settlement-free peering deal, meaning neither party typically demands payment from the other for directly exchanging data. Edge can file a complaint with the federal court of justice against the lower court's decision not to allow an appeal within one month after receiving the judgement, according to the court. Meta, Edge and Telekom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment on the court decision. (Reporting by Miranda MurrayEditing by Madeline Chambers and Linda Pasquini)

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