Google says SA news industry needs ‘innovation and collaboration’ after Competition Commission report

Following a scathing report on its anti-competitive practices, Google said the South African media industry needs innovation and collaboration between platforms and publishers to be sustainable.

The search giant also claimed it was continuing to collaborate with the industry and the Competition Commission.

Competition Commission report

The Competition Commission’s Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry’s provisional report released in February, found the tech giant guilty of anti-competitive practices, stating that it could be required to pay up to R500 million a year in compensation to South African media outlets.

This is the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry on how platforms like Google, YouTube and Facebook affect advertising revenues.

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Google says news has changed

“The way people interact with news has changed dramatically,” said Charles Murito, Google’s policy lead for sub-Saharan Africa.

“We search, stream and scroll across multiple sites, platforms and screens to understand what’s going on in our communities and around the world.

“The South African Competition Commission’s provisional report on the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry ignores that and instead seeks to resurrect outdated business models. The Commission’s recommendations, if implemented, would force one platform to artificially subsidise certain publishers, based on inaccurate calculations on the perceived value of news to Google’s business,” Murito said.

Murito added that this would also “restrict access to information, stifle innovation, and disrupt monetisation and future investment.”

‘Balanced solutions’

Murito said Google will continue to collaborate with the industry and the Competition Commission to find balanced solutions for the future of the news ecosystem and to invest in tools that help publishers adapt and innovate.

“However, placing all the responsibility for the change in the way people access news exclusively onto Google misses the mark. Rather than focusing on outsized product and financial demands from one company, we should jointly seek meaningful solutions between government, business, digital platforms and news publishers themselves,” Murito said.

The Competition Commission will publish a final report later this year, with all parties given until 7 April to submit evidence to support their case.

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