Google has refuted allegations by South Africa’s Competition Commission that it unfairly profits from local news publishers. The commission’s 16-month investigation claims Google’s dominance in search, particularly with “zero-click” searches, hurts media houses by reducing traffic and ad revenue.
However, Google argues it drives traffic to news sites and invests in tools and training for publishers. The company claims its platforms generated R350 million ($18 million) in referral traffic for South African publishers in 2023, while earning less than R19 million ($1 million) from ads next to news-related searches.
The commission disputes Google’s figures, estimating the company earned between R800 million and R900 million ($42 million-$47 million) from news-related searches.
It recommends Google pay R500 million ($26 million) annually to local publishers and modify its search features to drive more traffic to news sites.
The Portfolio Committee on Communication and Digital Technologies chairperson, Khusela Sangoni Diko, supports the commission’s recommendations, which could lead to a new media policy requiring digital platforms to pay for news content. Google is reviewing the findings before responding fully.
