South Africa's Competition Commission says Google will provide a 688-million-rand package (about $40.4m) to support local news outlets after finding Google search results favoured foreign news. The deal allocates $4m for national publishers, $2.6m per year for AI initiatives, and $2.2m for community outlets' digital transformation. Platforms must remove algorithmic bias and provide new tools and data; TikTok agreed separate monetisation features, while X did not settle and was ordered to open monetisation programmes.
Google to Provide R688m (~$40.4m) to Support South African Newsrooms After Competition Probe
South Africa's Competition Commission says Google will provide a 688-million-rand package (about $40.4m) to support local news outlets after finding Google search results favoured foreign news. The deal allocates $4m for national publishers, $2.6m per year for AI initiatives, and $2.2m for community outlets' digital transformation. Platforms must remove algorithmic bias and provide new tools and data; TikTok agreed separate monetisation features, while X did not settle and was ordered to open monetisation programmes.
07:17 PM, 11/13/2025Technology
Google agrees funding package to shore up local media
South Africa's Competition Commission announced on Thursday that Google will provide a 688-million-rand package (about $40.4 million) to support local news organisations after a 16-month investigation found Google search results tended to favour international outlets over domestic news providers.
The commission had earlier recommended in February that Google commit up to $27 million a year for five years, but the companies ultimately settled on the single 688-million-rand funding arrangement, according to the final report released by the regulator.
How the funds will be allocated
National publishers and broadcasters: $4 million over five years to support content on Google News.
AI innovation: $2.6 million per year to support AI development and related initiatives.
Community and small media: $2.2 million spread over three years to help smaller outlets with digital transformation and capacity building.
Platform commitments and additional measures
The Competition Commission said Google will introduce new user tools that prioritise local news sources, provide technical assistance to improve site performance, and share enhanced audience data with publishers. YouTube has also committed to supporting publishers' monetisation efforts.
"Google will also introduce new user tools to prioritise local news sources, provide technical assistance to improve website performance, [and] share enhanced audience data," the commission said.
The platforms additionally pledged to remove algorithmic bias that was favouring foreign outlets.
Other platforms and broader context
Similar funding and cooperation agreements have been struck in countries such as Taiwan, Canada, Australia and the United States amid growing pressure on tech companies to address harms to local journalism.
TikTok agreed to provide new tools allowing publishers to insert links in videos to monetise audiences off-platform. Social media platform X (formerly Twitter), owned by South African-born Elon Musk, did not reach a settlement. The commission ordered X to open all monetisation programmes to local publishers and to run training workshops; that directive can be appealed.
This package is intended to bolster struggling newsrooms as they adapt to the digital era, while the regulator seeks to correct distribution and monetisation imbalances driven by global tech platforms.
Source: Competition Commission of South Africa (final report).