Google Agrees to R688 Million Support Package for South African Media

Google has agreed to provide South African media companies with a R688 million support package following an investigation by the Competition Commission into the media and digital platforms market.

The commission's investigation found that Google's algorithms distort competition among news media, favoring global outlets over local ones. According to the commission, global media are overrepresented in search and the top stories block in South Africa, while publications in local languages and community media have lower visibility.

Columnist Janine Hills notes that this situation is linked to the worsening condition of South African media. She cites figures showing that sales of printed daily newspapers fell by 66% in 2018-2023, advertising revenues of three major publishers declined by 38% in 2018, and the figure for broadcasters decreased by 47% since 2016.

The commission also required Google to introduce tools that would allow users to prioritize local news sources. This move is seen as a step towards promoting local media and reducing reliance on global outlets.