The Competition Commission has published the draft terms of reference of a market inquiry into the distribution of media content on digital platforms.
The Commission is calling on members of the public and stakeholders to make written submissions on the proposed terms of reference.
The inquiry was established on the basis that market features may exist in digital platforms that distribute news media content that impede, distort or restrict competition and which may have adverse implications for the news media sector of South Africa.
The Competition Commission spokesperson, Siyabulela Makunga, elaborates, “This new inquiry follows several inquiries and investigations led by competition authorities globally on the impact of digital platforms on news media publishers that use these platforms to distribute their content online. The main digital platforms that the inquiry will focus on include; search engines, social media sites, video sharing platforms and news aggregation platforms.”
