NATIONAL NEWS - The Competition Commission's final report on the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI) published this morning, confirms that the dominance of digital platforms by global tech companies has negatively affected and weakened the financial positions of news media in South Africa.
The report, that concludes two years' of investigation by the Commission, recommends policy reform as well as mechanisms for fair revenue sharing to level the digital playing field and protect local journalism.
Competition Commissioner Doris Tshepe handed over the report to Parks Tau, minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), at an official ceremony at the office of the DTIC in Tshwane where the findings were also shared with the media.
The investigation found that the anti-competitive conduct of Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, X Corp, and AI companies such as OpenAI has been undermining the traditional revenue models of local media outlets.
The Commission proposes a package of remedies to restore fairness and sustainability in the local industry. Most major platforms have agreed on the remedies and will implement them immediately post-launch.
Central to these outcomes is a R688 million Media Support Package agreed with Google and YouTube, which will fund national, community, and vernacular media through a combination of content licensing, innovation grants, and capacity-building initiatives.
This includes contributions to the Digital News Transformation Fund, and funding for vernacular-language training through the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).
Chairman of the investigating team, James Hodge.
Technical assistance
Google will also introduce new user tools to prioritise local news sources, provide technical assistance to improve website performance, share enhanced audience data, and establish an African News Innovation Forum. Microsoft, in turn, will extend its MSN news contracts to include five additional national publishers.
Social media remedies
Meta will create a media liaison office in South Africa and expand monetisation access through workshops, ad credits, and the removal of follower thresholds.
YouTube will offer automatic access for all South African media to its Partner Programme and support the SABC with direct ad sales and archive digitisation.
TikTok will roll out its Publisher Support Suite in South Africa, including monetisation and analytics tools, while X Corp will make all monetisation programmes available locally and provide training workshops.
All platforms will implement digital literacy initiatives to strengthen media resilience and counter misinformation.
Block exemption
The Commission also recommends that the DTIC issue a block exemption to enable collective bargaining by South African media over platform monetisation terms, AI content licensing, AdTech pricing, and joint ad-sales for community media.
The Department of Communication and Digital Technology is to develop content-moderation regulations under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA). This is to introduce self-regulation frameworks for social media platforms and establish an independent Social Media Ombud to oversee public complaints and moderation practices.
'Essential to democracy'
The chair of the MDPMI, James Hodge, said the report and remedies represent a landmark step toward rebalancing digital markets, protecting fair competition, and rebuilding the long-term sustainability of South Africa’s news media.
"They reaffirm that a healthy, independent, and diverse press is essential to democracy, and that collective action, equitable regulation, and platform accountability are vital to safeguarding that principle for the digital future.”
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