TimesLIVE: Google agrees to provide South African media with a 688 million rand support package
In South Africa, Google has agreed to provide local media companies with a 688 million rand support package following an investigation by the Competition Commission into the media and digital platforms market. As TimesLIVE reports, the commission also required the company to introduce tools that would allow users to prioritize local news sources.
Commission findings
The Competition Commission's investigation, released in November 2025 after 24 months of evidence gathering, concluded that Google's algorithms distort competition among news media. According to the commission, global media are overrepresented in search and the top stories block in South Africa, while publications in local languages and community media have lower visibility.
Columnist Janine Hills links this situation to the worsening condition of South African media. She cites figures showing that sales of printed daily newspapers fell by 66% in 2018–2023, advertising revenues of three major publishers declined by 38% in 2018, and the figure for broadcasters decreased by 47% since 2016.
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Small business visibility
The article also mentions Durban North florist Roxanne Gordon, who posted a video on TikTok ahead of Valentine's Day. According to the author's account, customers searching for her business on Google were directed to links for NetFlorist, a much larger competitor. Hills notes that sponsored results at the top of the search page are placed by advertisers who pay for such positioning.
The commission also found that Meta's algorithms deprioritized news content, reducing organic reach and referrals to local publishers' websites. The regulator recommended that Meta and X stop deprioritizing posts by South African media containing links.
