Google to Pay $40m to Support South African Media After Competition Inquiry

Google has agreed to pay more than $40 million to supportSouth African news media after an inquiry from the country’s CompetitionCommission (CompCom) found that the company reduced search engine monetisationopportunities that traditionally sustained these news outlets. CompCom disclosed the payment agreement in a final reportdetailing the inquiry and its findings, published on Thursday. According to the report, the inquiry found that Google,among major global platforms like Meta and Microsoft, dominates key gatewaysthrough which South Africans access information. The inquiry noted that the tech giant maintains a dominantposition, where news represents 5-10 percent of queries and drives userengagement that is monetised through commercial advertising. “Google does however not compensate South African media forthe news content it displays or summarises. Referral traffic to media websiteshas declined sharply as users increasingly consume AI-generated summaries orremain on Google’s own platforms,” the report said. “Furthermore, Google’s algorithmic structure tends to favourlarge foreign outlets over local or vernacular media, deepening inequality incontent visibility and advertising reach. “The SABC relies heavily on YouTube for content distributionbut earns minimal revenue-share compensation. “Social media algorithms also foster the spread ofmisinformation and disinformation by promoting sensationalist material overcredible sources, imposing social costs that the media must absorb in combatingfake news.” As such, CompCom said it reached an agreement with Googleand YouTube after “extensive engagement and two months of negotiations” tofinalise a “comprehensive package of remedies designed to restore fairness,transparency, and sustainability in South Africa’s media ecosystem”. Central to the outcomes is the $40.2 million support package(688 million rands), which is expected to fund national, community, andvernacular media through a combination of content licensing, innovation grants,and capacity-building initiatives. Under the agreement, Google will also introduce new usertools to prioritise local news sources, provide technical assistance to improvewebsite performance, share enhanced audience data, and establish an AfricanNews Innovation Forum. CompCom said it also found that Microsoft exhibited asimilar foreign bias through its MSN service, by contracting relatively fewSouth African publishers. Owing to the engagements, Microsoft will now extend its MSNnews contracts to include five additional national publishers, the reportadded.

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