The Competition Commission on Friday published a draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for a market inquiry into the distribution of media content on digital platforms in South Africa.

The Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI), established in terms of Section 43B(1)(a) of the Competition Act, will evaluate and determine the nature and extent to which digital platforms impact the news media sector in South Africa.

Interested stakeholders have until April 20 to submit written comments on the ToR of the MDPMI, which 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.

It is the Competition Commission’s view that there may exist market features 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.

This imbalance can have implications on fair payment for content and the sustainability of independent journalism, the Competition Commission warns.

“The inquiry is underpinned by the value of a properly funded press to advance a well-functioning democracy and includes the diversity of views from smaller media businesses and media owned by historically disadvantaged persons,” it said in a statement.

Accordingly, the broad focus of the inquiry will be on the interaction and dependency of South African news media businesses on relevant digital platforms as an intermediary, distributor and link to online users for the dissemination of news content online; and the impact on news media businesses to aggregate, display, create and monetise their news 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.

“The inquiry will also take a forward-looking approach and evaluate new technologies adopted by digital platforms, such as generative artificial intelligence search support and the significance these may have on the operations of businesses in the South African news media sector,” the Competition Commission comments.

The inquiry will focus only on businesses within the South African news media sector including news publishers and broadcasters.

The MDPMI will start 20 business days after the publication of the final ToR.