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South Africa’s Competition Commission has been intensifying its scrutiny of big tech, and now Google finds itself under the microscope. Following a 16-month investigation, the commission has accused Google of unfairly claiming a significant share of revenue from local news publishers, further exacerbating the struggles of an already fragile media industry.
A major point of contention is Google’s overwhelming dominance in search, particularly with “zero-click” searches—where users obtain the information they need directly from Google’s results page without visiting news websites. The commission argues that this practice has negatively impacted media houses by reducing their web traffic and ad revenue, while Google continues to reap the benefits.
Predictably, Google disputes these claims. The company maintains that it plays a vital role in supporting publishers by driving traffic to their sites and investing in tools and training. According to Google, its platforms generated approximately R350 million ($18 million) worth of referral traffic for South African publishers in 2023, while its own earnings from ads displayed alongside news-related searches amounted to less than R19 million ($1 million).
However, the commission remains unconvinced. It estimates that Google’s earnings from news-related searches were significantly higher—somewhere between R800 million and R900 million ($42 million–$47 million). As a corrective measure, the commission is recommending that Google pay R500 million ($26 million) annually to local publishers and modify its search features to increase traffic to news websites.
Meanwhile, Khusela Sangoni Diko, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communication and Digital Technologies, has expressed strong support for the commission’s recommendations. She believes these proposals could drive crucial reforms, including a new media policy that would require digital platforms like Google and YouTube to compensate news publishers for the content from which they benefit.
For now, Google states that it is reviewing the commission’s findings before providing a full response. However, one thing remains certain—this battle is far from over.
