South Africa is intensifying its efforts to persuade TikTok to extend its creator remuneration programme to the local market, with communications minister Solly Malatsi saying government has repeatedly engaged the platform but is yet to secure a breakthrough.
Speaking during a Q&A session at the recent annual Social Media Summit, Malatsi noted the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) is pursuing the issue of fair remuneration for African content creators as one of economic fairness.
He added that the department would like to seek support from other African countries to strengthen the continent's negotiating position.
“We have been engaging with TikTok around this and we haven’t been successful as yet in terms of getting the extension of what they call the content creators remuneration programme to be expanded into Africa, because apparently it currently exists in only five or six markets, including Australia, Brazil, I think the UK and the US. Which is a problem.
“My view is that the size of a market is actually irrelevant to the debate. It’s a matter of fair accessibility and what I call economic justice in a market that is applicable to everyone. We've had multiple conversations with this particular platform around opening up that remunerative benefit programme to the South African market and we are still just going to robustly advocate for that.”
The minister’s comments come more than a year after South African creators accused TikTok of leaving Africa behind by excluding the region from its lucrative creator monetisation programmes.
As previously reported by ITWeb, local creators argued they generate millions of views but remain unable to access the same revenue opportunities available to creators in markets such as the US, UK and parts of Europe.
TikTok's monetisation programme, called the Creator Rewards Programme, is currently available in eight regions/countries: the US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico.
This leaves many African creators unable to earn directly from content, despite attracting substantial audiences and followers.
Dominic Zaca, a South African content creator who has 2.1 million TikTok followers, previously told ITWeb that TikTok’s remuneration model is biased and unfair when compared to other social media platforms, like Facebook and X.
“Unlike other platforms, African creators are not paid at all by TikTok. We don’t receive any form of remuneration for anything that we contribute on the platform. We don’t get paid for any views, interactions or likes; neither are we compensated for any audio/music that may be used that we may have originally created. So, it’s not even a conversation of us being paid fairly – we are not being paid at all.”
Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) generally monetise creators through advertising revenue-sharing programmes, subscriptions and engagement-based incentives.
This allows eligible creators to earn a share of advertising income generated from their content.
Fair opportunities for future of work
Malatsi said the issue extends beyond social media and forms part of a broader shift in how people earn a living.
"I think it's a conversation that for me is important because when we look even broadly at the future of work – it's changed significantly in this era that we live in and we can't just presume that remuneration is only where there's office space.
"We are increasingly going to see a lot of self-employed individuals that are leveraging the existence of social media platforms for economic outcomes and we need to keep fighting for better remuneration."
He added that government is exploring a coordinated African approach after discussions with creators in African countries, including Nigeria.
"One of the things that we wanted to do was a coordinated approach with other African countries, from an African continent perspective, in order to amplify our voice because it's important.”
Malatsi also pointed to recent guidance issued by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on declaring income earned from digital content, saying it reflects the growing legitimacy of the creator economy.
"Many of you have also noticed how SARS has issued guidance regarding the declaration of income earned through digitally-produced content. That's important because the last thing anyone wants is uncertainty around income generated from digital content."
Seeking equal treatment
In a previous report, ITWeb highlighted growing frustration among South African creators who argued that while TikTok has rapidly expanded its user base across Africa, monetisation opportunities have not kept pace.
Social media lawyer Lerato Ntwampe said the disparity creates an uneven playing field for African creators competing in the global digital economy.
She argued that African creators produce content that generates significant engagement and advertising value for platforms, yet are denied access to the same earning mechanisms available to creators in developed markets.
According to Ntwampe, this limits the commercial sustainability of content creation as a profession in Africa and reinforces broader digital economic inequalities.
"When African creators are excluded from platform monetisation, it reinforces digital economic inequalities and undermines content creation as a sustainable career."
She also noted that while creators can still secure brand partnerships and other commercial opportunities, platform-funded monetisation remains an important revenue stream that should not be restricted by geography.
"Platform-funded monetisation is a significant revenue stream. Access to these programmes should not depend on where a creator lives."
Malatsi's comments indicate the issue has now become a matter of government policy rather than solely an industry concern, with SA positioning fair access to digital platform remuneration as part of a wider discussion around digital inclusion, the future of work and economic justice.
Responding to ITWeb on the matter, TikTok says: "TikTok is committed to exploring ways to reward creators for their creativity and hard work. Currently, creators in Sub-Saharan Africa can earn through various features we have, such as live gifts, video gifts, subscription and Work with Artists, but we continue to look for new ways to enhance our global offerings and will continue to do so as we learn from the feedback we get from our creator community."
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