Google will pay South African news media $40 million, the country’s competition authority announced, as Pretoria becomes the latest government to secure a funding deal with the tech giant over anti-trust rulings.
Following a 16-month investigation, South Africa’s Competition Commission found that Google was favoring international news outlets over local ones, hindering the reach and profits of South African news media.
Under the deal, the California-based tech company will pay South African national broadcasters and publishers for content on Google News, support AI innovation, and back digital transformation at small media outlets.
Google began distributing a similar funding package for Canadian media outlets in May; however, some critics have derided the fund’s short-termism in the face of US tech companies’ increasing power: “It’s like a band-aid to journalism,” one digital scholar said.