The Competition Commission published its final report on the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI) toward the end of 2025. The inquiry signals a significant regulatory intervention in the relationship between local media organisations, global digital platforms, and the digital advertising economy. Far more than a technical market exercise, the MDPMI addresses fundamental questions concerning the sustainability of South Africa’s news media sector and the future shape of competition in digital markets. Its findings and remedial measures point to a decisive shift in how competition law will be applied to platform-driven sectors in the years ahead.

Over the past decade, digital platforms have become the primary channels through which South Africans access news, entertainment, and advertising. While these platforms have enhanced productivity and broadened access to information, they have also profoundly disrupted the traditional economic foundations of the media industry.

In assessing whether these disruptions had distorted competition, the Commission adopted a firm and interventionist approach. Its investigation focused on several key concerns, including:

• the extraction of excessive revenue from digital advertising;
• the use of local news content without fair compensation to publishers; and
• the leveraging of data and algorithmic advantages to prioritise global content over local publishers.

The Commission’s conclusion was unequivocal. It found that the current digital ecosystem has materially undermined the sustainability of South Africa’s news media sector and weakened competitive conditions within digital advertising markets. This finding firmly positions the MDPMI within the growing body of global regulatory responses to the commercial dominance of major digital platforms.

From findings to binding remedies

What distinguishes the MDPMI is not only its conclusions, but its outcome. Unlike many earlier market inquiries, it did not end with non-binding recommendations. Instead, it culminated in a set of binding remedial commitments, reflecting a more assertive regulatory stance toward digital markets.

Most notably, Google and YouTube agreed to provide an approximately R688 million media support package aimed at strengthening local journalism, fostering innovation, and promoting media diversity. The funding is intended to support content licensing, newsroom sustainability, and the development of vernacular and community media.

Beyond financial relief, the remedies require digital platforms to:

• increase the visibility of South African news content;
• provide publishers with greater transparency and access to data;
• implement technical tools to enhance the performance of local media; and
• participate in structured engagement forums with the media industry.

Taken together, these measures seek not only to address immediate financial pressures but also to recalibrate the underlying relationship between publishers and platforms.

Implications for media and publishers

For South African media organisations, the MDPMI offers both short-term relief and the prospect of longer-term stability. More importantly, it affirms a critical principle: local news content has economic value that must be recognised and fairly compensated. This recognition strengthens publishers’ bargaining positions and may ultimately facilitate collective bargaining arrangements between media houses and digital platforms.

The inquiry also reflects a deliberate policy choice in its emphasis on community and vernacular media. By explicitly supporting local and regional voices, the Commission has acknowledged that media diversity should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of digital growth. In this respect, the MDPMI represents a meaningful intervention in support of the news media’s broader public interest role.

Implications for digital marketers and advertisers

For marketers and advertisers, the MDPMI marks the beginning of more intensive regulatory oversight of the digital advertising and AdTech ecosystem.

Advertisers can expect:

• increased transparency in pricing structures, data usage, and performance metrics;
• potential reforms in the allocation and prioritisation of digital advertising inventory; and
• a more competitive advertising environment that reduces dependence on a small number of dominant platforms.

Over time, local publishers and alternative digital outlets may gain improved access to advertising markets. While the full commercial impact of these changes will only become clear in the longer term, it is evident that digital advertising markets will now operate under heightened regulatory scrutiny.

A shift in the application of Competition Law

The MDPMI confirms that competition authorities will no longer confine their analysis of digital markets to traditional indicators such as pricing and market share. Future enforcement efforts are likely to focus increasingly on:

• the control and use of data and algorithms; 
• the effects of platform conduct across value chains and content ecosystems; and 
• the long-term sustainability of industries affected by digital market concentration.

In this regard, South Africa is aligning itself with international trends in the regulation of large digital platforms. Further regulatory interventions — including in areas such as artificial intelligence, online advertising, and platform governance — now appear not only possible, but likely.

The Competition Commission’s statement of 13 November 2025 represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of South Africa’s digital economy. Media organisations may now have an improved prospect of sustainability and fair compensation, while advertisers can anticipate a more transparent and competitive advertising landscape. For regulators and legal practitioners, the MDPMI establishes a robust framework for addressing market power in digital environments.

Overall, the MDPMI marks the beginning of a more active and interventionist phase of digital market regulation in South Africa, signalling a strong commitment to long-term fairness, competition, and innovation across the sector.

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