The dispute stems from a court ruling in favour of Deutsche Telekom, which demands that Meta pay fees for direct peering arrangements.
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Meta has since rerouted its data through third-party providers to avoid these fees, a move Deutsche Telekom deems an attempt to circumvent legal obligations.
Deutsche Telekom claims that Meta stopped paying for data traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, violating a pre-existing agreement.
The company subsequently won a court case against Meta, but instead of resuming payments, Meta allegedly opted to redirect its data traffic to Deutsche Telekom’s network via a transit provider.
Deutsche Telekom argues that Meta’s actions are an abuse of its market power, stating that this undermines fairness in the European telecommunications market.
In a strongly worded statement, Deutsche Telekom accused Meta of “twisting the facts” and avoiding lawful payments, also alleging that Meta “avoids taxes in Europe” and “lies to the public about hate speech”.
The German provider expressed concerns that Meta is using its dominant position to discredit legitimate concerns from the telecommunications industry.
The company further alleged that Meta’s approach threatens to weaken the internet’s infrastructure and could harm consumers.
Deutsche Telekom says it has implemented measures to ensure that data traffic from Meta continues to flow smoothly and that its customers experience no reduction in service quality.
The company insists Meta must respect the legal ruling and pay for the data transport services provided.
Deutsche Telekom also reiterated its support for the European Commission’s proposal to introduce a binding dispute resolution mechanism, which would help regulate pricing and prevent similar disputes between tech companies and telecom providers.
Meta reaction
Meta, on the other hand, expressed disappointment at the breakdown in negotiations and the court ruling, which it described as a result of “unprecedented and unacceptable fees” demanded by Deutsche Telekom.
The tech giant argued that it has settlement-free peering agreements with thousands of telecom providers worldwide, which it claims benefit both parties by ensuring reliable internet connections at no additional cost.
Meta warned that Deutsche Telekom’s stance could set a "dangerous global precedent" and undermine net neutrality principles.
According to Meta, telecom providers profit from charging customers for internet access while benefiting from the digital infrastructure investments made by companies like Meta. The company pointed out that in 2022 alone, it invested over €27 billion globally in digital infrastructure, including its edge network, which reduces costs and latency for telecom providers.
Meta framed the dispute as a broader issue of maintaining an open internet, warning that Deutsche Telekom’s practices could restrict access to internet services for German consumers.
The company, though, expressed hope that a future agreement could be reached.
Stanford Law professor Barbara van Schewick has been writing about the topic extensively. She argues that "the looming showdown is not just a battle between Meta and Deutsche Telekom – two large companies that can fight for themselves."
"It’s about all apps and sites, and Germans’ ability to use the apps and services of their choice," Van Schewick wrote in a blog post published this morning.
"Deutsche Telekom’s bullying tactics affect every online site, app, and service. They either pay Deutsche Telekom or suffer bad performance.
"If your website or service uses a hosting provider or content delivery network that isn’t paying Deutsche Telekom for a direct, uncongested connection, your site or service will load slowly for Deutsche Telekom subscribers in Germany, and you may not even know it.
"If you buy internet access from Deutsche Telekom, you pay Deutsche Telekom for a fast connection to the internet. But whether the apps and services you want to use actually work well, completely depends on whether they have paid Deutsche Telekom’s ransom.
Van Schewick argues that this violates Europe's net neutrality law. The law protects people's right to use the applications of their choice; that right, according to the professor, is not limited to apps that have paid people's ISPs.
"All of this has been happening for a while," she says. "This is just going to be the first time most people hear about it.
"Soon we will see whether Deutsche Telekom slows down Meta for millions of Germans and, if it does, whether the German regulator has the courage to step in and stop the bully."
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