South Africa: Opened consultation on Further Statement of Issues regarding Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI)

On 19 December 2023, the South African Competition Commission opened a consultation on its Further Statement of Issues regarding Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI) until 22 January 2024. The scope of the inquiry includes search engines such as Google and Bing, social media platforms such as Meta and X, news aggregation platforms, video sharing platforms such as Youtube and TikTok, DSPs, ad networks such as Google Ads and Display & Video 360, ad exchanges such as Google AdExchange, and generative AI such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The inquiry aims to examine whether digital platforms that distribute news media content and associated advertising technology (Adtech) markets distort, impede or restrict competition, resulting in adverse effects on South Africa’s news media sector. In its Further Statement, the Competition Commission notes its intention to expand the themes to be analysed to include constitutional interpretations, misinformation and disinformation impact, news benefit measurements, arrangements between news media and digital platforms and measures for the transparency of advertising technology.