South Africa’s Competition Commission has accused Google of unfairly benefiting from local news publishers by dominating search traffic and reducing website visits through “zero-click” searches. The regulator claims this practice has hurt media houses’ revenue while Google profits from news-related searches.
Google, however, disputes these allegations, stating that it supports publishers by driving traffic worth R350 million ($18 million) in 2023 while earning less than R19 million ($1 million) from related ads. The commission disagrees, estimating Google’s earnings at R800–R900 million ($42–$47 million) and recommending that the tech giant pay R500 million ($26 million) annually to local publishers.
With policymakers backing the commission’s findings, this dispute could reshape South Africa’s digital media landscape. Read more at: Tech In Africa