Caxton tells Competition Commission that Google and Meta threaten free press in SA

On 5 December, Caxton made a detailed submission to the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry, which is investigating the distribution of media content on South Africa’s digital platforms and advertising technology (Adtech) markets.

Caxton outlined the central challenges that the news media industry is facing in the digital age of media consumption, highlighting the dominance of Google and Meta (Facebook) in digital markets. Caxton’s submission addresses the technical issues at play in these markets, as well as the distortive features that are curtailing competition in digital markets. The complete report can be downloaded here: https://caxton.co.za/media-centre.

Secrecy and complexity are inherent in the digital space. Caxton views transparency as a crucial remedy to the corrosive actions of digital platforms. The media house encourages South Africans to familiarise themselves with Caxton’s submission to allow for a better understanding of how these markets operate.

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The international digital platforms are not held accountable by South African authorities, nor do they contribute to the SA tax coffers. Consequently, they extract billions in revenue from South Africa.

The dominance of digital platforms is a fundamental threat to the South African publishing industry.

Caxton’s non-executive chairman, Paul Jenkins, says: “Digital platforms pose the most fundamental threat to the sustainability of the free press in South Africa. Caxton fully supports the efforts of the Competition Commission, but cautions that a delay in taking appropriate action will only place the press in a more perilous financial position.

“Inquiry chairman James Hodge and Commissioner Doris Tshepe have a unique opportunity to safeguard the hard-fought right to the freedom of the press in South Africa, a right that underpins our democratic dispensation.

“Caxton uses its media voice to protect and strengthen democracy in communities across South Africa. As a result, those on the grassroots level have access to tested and verified information relating to where they live. This includes crucial information on community safety and security, service delivery and those in power.

“Google, Meta and other digital platforms are not voices – they do not produce original news and they have no voice of their own. Instead, they simply repeat the contents of others without verifying their accuracy or considering whether their aggregation serves the public interest.”

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Digital platforms freeride off original newsgathering and content, which offers a great deal of value to digital platforms. Given the daily relevance of news, this content facilitates a near-constant flow of traffic towards these platforms. The platforms benefit substantially from this traffic and engagement. In reality, however, this relationship is heavily skewed towards the digital platforms, especially when one considers the dynamics of the digital advertising market.

This environment is particularly difficult to navigate for local news publishers.

Local newspapers provide invaluable information to local communities, offering localised insights into local government and politics, social issues and ills, the economy and need-to-know information of relevance to the daily lives of community members in the respective towns across the country. Local titles thus provide great value to these digital platforms. If we are to ensure a healthy, credible and reliable journalism industry in future, this value and the benefits thereof should be shared equitably so that local newspapers can continue to support democracy by promoting freedom of speech and executing their public watchdog functions.

Caxton urges all media organisations to participate in the MDPMI and raise awareness of the problems facing the South African media industry. The public must be informed of these issues transparently and comprehensively.

The Inquiry is scheduled to hold public hearings for stakeholders from 2 to 24 March 2024.

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