The South African Competition Authority has imposed sanctions on technology companies, including Alphabet's Google and Meta's Facebook, over anti-competitive practices it says are harming local media companies.
The Competition Commission has recommended that Google pay up to R500 million ($27 million) a year to local media outlets for up to five years.
The commission said Google's behavior hampers the ability of news media to generate revenue from digital visits.
She also asked Meta not to reduce the priority given to news on "Facebook", in order to guarantee fair competition and the survival of local media.
The commission also requested a set of solutions from "Meta", the "X" platform ofElon Musk, "YouTube" and "TikTok," aimed at reducing bias in favor of foreign media and supporting local and community media, according to a statement released Monday.
The commission announced the decision while presenting the results of a 16-month investigation into the practices of technology platforms, specifying that these solutions, still preliminary, only apply to the activities of the companies mentioned in South Africa.
Local media companies in South Africa have faced challenges in continuing operations as the majority of the population has limited ability to pay to access information.
