South Africa's Competition Commission is making waves as it investigates global tech giants like Google and Meta for anti-competitive practices affecting local news media. The Commission's provisional report released on February 24, 2025, highlights the urgent need for these platforms to compensate South African media outlets for the significant value their content generates on digital platforms.
After 16 months of scrutiny, which included public hearings and expert testimonies, the Commission proposed hefty financial remedies: Google could be required to pay between R300 million ($16.3 million) and R500 million ($27 million) annually over the next three to five years. This compensation aims to address the declining revenues faced by local media, particularly as digital platforms continue to monopolize advertisement markets.
The inquiry revealed concerning trends, including the disproportionate visibility of global media content over local news on platforms like Google and Meta. According to Reuters, the Commission noted, "Google's algorithm distorts competition between news media organisations insofar as it overrepresents global news media..." This leads to underrepresentation of local language and community media, aggravates revenue challenges for South African publishers, and threatens the diversity of news available to citizens.
Provisional findings suggest remedies aimed at restoring fairness. These include requirements for Google to implement changes to its search functionality, creating conditions where local media can recover lost referral traffic. Meta's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, are urged to stop deprioritizing news content and to restore referral traffic to its pre-deprioritization levels.
One of the drastic measures proposed involves the modification of revenue-sharing models on platforms like YouTube. The Commission recommends raising the media's revenue share to 70% and actively promoting their content. Such changes could bolster local newsrooms struggling under the weight of declining advertising revenues as digital consumption takes precedence.
Interestingly, the inquiry also addresses the role of artificial intelligence. Recommendations include allowing South African news publishers to negotiate collectively with AI companies over the use of their content for training AI models. This reflects a growing concern about the value placed on content generation amid the rise of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, without proper compensation to original creators.
Authorities understand the challenges they face. China's efforts to curb the influence of tech giants through legislative maneuvers have had mixed results, and South Africa's initiatives may similarly see resistance. The Competition Commission is aware of pushback typically faced globally whenever major platforms are asked to assume responsibility for the consequences of their algorithms.
"This inequity has materially contributed to the erosion of the media in South Africa over the past 14 years and will continue to do so..." is how the Commission described the situation, underlining the urgent need for change. They have set the stage for renewed dialogue among stakeholders and the public, offering until April 7, 2025, for feedback on the provisional report before the final recommendations are published later this year.
For South African media, the proposer remedies represent not just potential financial relief but also substantial changes to how digital platforms operate within the country. Success hinges on compliance from these global entities, who have typically resisted similar measures elsewhere, making the road to implementation uncertain.
Yet, if these changes are embraced—especially by tech giants historically resistant to significant concessions—they could serve as momentum for similar legal frameworks across Africa and possibly set new precedents for how local news can thrive amid global digital storms.