The Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry in 2024, examining relationships between news outlets and digital platforms
Global digital players are entering African markets and changing how consumers shop and transact. Competition authorities on the continent are already playing a key role in ensuring that digital markets remain open, competitive and beneficial to small and emerging businesses. Competition regulators are increasingly turning to market inquiries and market studies as a tool to evaluate, and sometimes intervene in, digital markets.
South Africa’s novel approach
South Africa has taken a fairly unique approach to digital markets, preferring the market inquiry route as its primary tool for early intervention.
The online intermediation platforms market inquiry (OIPMI) allowed South Africa’s Competition Commission to explore complex digital markets and identify features of online intermediation platforms that impede, distort or restrict competition in the country. The Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry continued throughout 2024, examining relationships between news outlets and digital platforms, particularly how media content is distributed via search engines, social media and news aggregation services.
In the OIPMI, the commission made platform-specific recommendations to market participants and the government, aimed at addressing a range of issues identified through the intensive approach of an inquiry. The recommendations included the removal of price parity clauses, the adoption of transparent advertising practices, prohibiting self-preferencing by platforms and a restriction on the use of seller data.
Despite its advantages, there are challenges with the market inquiry route. While the commission considers that the recommendations and findings emanating from market inquiries are binding, this view is not supported by all competition lawyers. The opposing view is that the commission’s recommendations are merely that — recommendations that are not binding, given that the commission cannot order firms to implement recommendations arising from market inquiries.
Considering that the provisions of market inquiries have not yet been tested in the courts, it is unclear which view they will take. Some of the firms targeted in the OIPMI have brought review applications in the high court and/ or appeals before the tribunal. If these challenges go all the way, the decisions could bring clarity regarding this contentious issue. It is unclear, however, how long these litigious cases will take and whether any of the recommendations made in the OIPMI will hold and still make sense by the time they have been finalised.
Moreover, remedial measures effected after a market inquiry are not a permanent feature. For example, the remedial actions imposed on market firms that participated in the OIPMI only apply for a four-year period.
One further potential challenge with the market inquiry route is that this requires the publication of terms of reference. It sets out who the target will be and what will be of interest when they are targeted. By implication, that excludes other factors that might be highly relevant to the nature and level of competition in South Africa. For example, the OIPMI did not spend much time looking at artificial intelligence; neither did it look more broadly across the shopping ecosystem. The OIPMI did not assess the impact of providers such as Shein and Temu and the fact that consumer preferences lean towards online shopping rather than offline brick-and-mortar stores.
Assessing the structure of markets and the entire phenomenon of digitalisation is challenging in the context of a market inquiry that chooses to target only particular platform services (those who act as intermediaries between consumers and businesses) and, indeed, only particular platforms (those identified as “leading”), and then only with regard to specific effects, such as accessibility for small businesses or impacts on rural economies.
Market inquiries may also fail to consider other structural factors influencing market dynamics. For example, in South Africa, challenges in the rail and port network, the post office and municipal infrastructure weigh heavily on the performance of businesses across the country’s markets and it is often impossible to disentangle these factors from effects resulting from digital platforms.
However, a market inquiry can be an efficient intervention that is much faster than the process of amending a law. Furthermore, the commission appears to take the view that its recommendations are a starting point for negotiation, which enable stakeholders, including businesses in the sector, to consider and collaborate with it on workable and achievable outcomes. For example, Booking.com initially appealed the remedial action recommended by the commission in its final report but a settlement has since been reached on compliance measures.
When the commission published its provisional report on the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry inquiry in February 2025, it noted that technology companies that control digital platforms operating in South Africa must compensate local media companies for their loss of revenue due to the changing nature of digital news distribution. Failing that, they should be taxed. This announcement is being followed by a period of stakeholder engagement and negotiations, which will probably lead to policy changes.
Across Africa
Market studies are not only relied upon in South Africa. There are numerous examples of their use across Africa’s digital markets sector.
The Economic Community of West African States’s Regional Competition Authority published a cross-country report on its Digital Market Study in early 2025. The report found that the competitive landscape for e-commerce and financial digital platforms in member states was complex and multi-faceted. It further noted that members had raised concerns that their current competition laws were formulated to deal with “traditional markets” and that the emergence of digital markets called for the need to update their legal frameworks.
Other key areas of concern included the inadequate disclosure of terms and conditions to consumers and overly stringent regulations creating barriers to entry.
During 2024, the Competition Authority of Kenya released a report on its Online Food and Groceries Delivery Platforms Market Study. The study found that Kenya did not have “explicit regulations” regulating online platforms and highlighted the need to address the deficiencies in the regulation of digital platforms.
The study recommended that the authority should continuously monitor the online food and groceries market for anti-competitive behaviour and analyse the contract terms between platforms and their users to determine issues of superior bargaining position.
It also recommended that the authority undertake consumer awareness campaigns and engage with platforms on consumer protection matters, including complaints-handling and redress mechanisms, data privacy and delayed delivery.
The study further identified a need for collaboration between the authority and other relevant regulators regarding how to regulate e-commerce-related consumer concerns and data privacy issues.
Final note
Market inquiries in African digital markets can potentially offer an effective means for early intervention and collaboration with stakeholders in the sector. The temporary nature of these inquiries, however, as well as their narrow range and the opposing views on their non-legislative nature, might expose them to legal challenges and their effect can be short-lived.
Nevertheless, market inquiries and market studies are firmly part of the toolbox used by many African competition authorities to assess the rapidly evolving digital space.
Businesses facing a market inquiry should seek legal advice to understand their rights and obligations, including receiving assistance in preparing thorough responses to competition authorities to ensure that compliance with regulatory requirements is met.
Tshidi Vilakazi is a senior associate at Bowmans.
