By Nqobile Dludla and Siyanda Mthethwa
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s competition regulator announced on Thursday a series of concessions from global tech platforms, including a 688 million rand ($40 million) media support package agreed with Google and YouTube, following an investigation into the sector.
The package, announced in the Competition Commission’s final report of its Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry, will fund national, community, and non-English language media through a combination of content licensing, innovation grants, and capacity-building initiatives, the regulator said.
Google said its investment was consistent with its support for news partners around the world.
“Helping the news industry adapt to the digital age is a shared responsibility. It requires innovation from publishers, a broad-based approach from the wider industry and government, and contributions from multiple platforms – not just Google,” the company said in a statement.
The report highlighted how global digital platforms have eroded traditional media revenues, with Alphabet’s Google and YouTube, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, Elon Musk-owned X, and artificial intelligence firms dominating access to news and monetisation channels.
In the social media space, the Commission said YouTube had agreed to provide access and support to South African media outlets seeking to make money from their content on the platform, while Meta would provide ad credits to local media, as well as resources and training.
TikTok, meanwhile, has agreed to introduce new publisher support programmes in the country.
Most major companies have agreed to the remedies and will implement them immediately, inquiry Chair James Hodge said.
However, the Commission said it had imposed a requirement for X Corp to offer all of its monetisation programmes in South Africa.
The final report was handed over to Parks Tau, the minister of trade, industry and competition, who said he would present it to parliament.
($1 = 17.3125 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla. Editing by Mark Potter)
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