south african The media think tank comes as regulators in many countries investigate allegations that big tech companies are profiting unfairly from content they distribute but do not invest in producing. expressed concern about Facebook's decision to stop publishing news content in its markets.
Michael Markovits, a media industry veteran and former SABC director who founded and leads the Gordon Institute of Business Science's Media Leadership Think Tank, will address the Competition Commission's Committee on Competition in Media and Digital Platforms in Pretoria on Tuesday. We raised this concern in our investigation.
“A company with 3 billion to 4 billion users that has profited unfairly from high-quality news content for decades now accidentally sells one side of the news content as regulatory heat begins to mount around the world. “It's never right to say that we announced an opt-out…,” Markovitz said in his presentation.
His comments follow Meta Platforms' announcement last week that it would scrap tabs on Facebook promoting news in Australia and the US, following similar decisions in the UK, Germany and France last year. is. The move is seen as Meta's response to new regulations in these jurisdictions where Big Tech companies force news organizations to pay for content.
“The idea that one company can profit from another company's investments, not just investments in capital, but investments in human resources.'' [and] It's unfair to invest in journalism,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters last week following Mehta's decision. “That's not the Australian way.”
South African lawmakers will face similar questions regarding the enforceability of remedial actions that may result from the Competition Commission's investigation, Markowitz said.
antitrust law
He urged the Committee to carry out the investigation in a manner that not only resolves the issues in the South African context, but also sets a precedent for other jurisdictions in the so-called Global South (developing and underdeveloped countries). I encouraged them to work on it. resort to collective bargaining strategies to counter Big Tech;
When Meta made a similar move in Canada to pull news from Facebook, the Canadian publisher launched an antitrust complaint against the company. Mr. Markovitz recommended that the Competition Commission follow up on that particular incident, saying, “Meta's conduct impedes the ability of news organizations to operate and trade on fraudulent platforms, and The company's response was correct.” [owned] By a very dominant player. ”
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“Further research needs to be done to assess the legality of platform responses, such as blocking news content,” he said. “Certainly, this condemnation, de-amplification, and blocking of news is not a legitimate action by a platform that is arguably dominant in its respective market and one of the largest corporations in human history.”
TechCentral reached out to Meta Platforms for comment on Tuesday, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. – © 2024 News Central Media