The Competition Commission has made a recommendation to the Department of Communications and Digital Technology (DCDT), to introduce a regulatory framework for the establishment of a social media ombud.
This is one of the key remedies in the Competition Commission’s Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry final report, which was released last week.
The inquiry, initiated in terms of section 43B(1)(a) of the Competition Act 89 of 1998, was undertaken because the Competition Commission had reason to believe there are market features on digital platforms that distribute news media content that impede, distort, or restrict competition, or undermine the purposes of the Act.
The final report was released following 24 months of extensive evidence-gathering, public and in-camera hearings, expert report submissions, consultation with industry role players, a consumer survey and focus group discussions.
Among its several findings, the report reveals several transgressions of social media giants relating to unfair play within South Africa’s media sector.
The report notes that social media platforms − such as Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), YouTube, X and TikTok − benefit significantly from displaying news content (through engagement and ad revenue), while news outlets, which invest in creating that content, receive no direct compensation from the platforms, leading to a significant power imbalance.
As consumers seek to access news through these aggregator platforms because it is easy and convenient, the social media platforms have enormous power to direct traffic based on their algorithms, it adds.
In the report, the Competition Commission highlights several findings, recommendations and proposed remedial actions for each social media platform.
A recommendation is directed to the DCDT, to regulate content moderation in SA through the following mechanisms:
“Bringing social media under the ambit of the provisions of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA) whereby limited liability is granted if an industry body is formed with the social media platforms as members, along with an industry Code of Conduct that complies with the guidelines for such codes under the ECTA,” says the Competition Commission.
“The DCDT should further look to establish a regulatory framework for the establishment of a social media ombud to represent consumers in their disputes with social media platforms and to refer certain matters to the appropriate regulatory body for investigation and/or prosecution.”
The report further notes a social media ombud could play an important role in helping to resolve complaints about harmful, misleading, or unethical content and behaviour on social media platforms.
“The social media platforms would then be compelled to comply with the industry code and respond to the take-down notices issued by the industry body,” it says.
The inquiry also recommends that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition issue a block exemption to enable collective bargaining by South African media over social media platform monetisation terms, artificial intelligence content licensing, advertising technology pricing and joint ad sales for community media.
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