-
South Africa: Competition Watchdog Wants WhatsApp, Facebook's Meta To Pay Up for 'Abuse'
allAfrica, 16 March 2022
The Competition Commission has referred Meta to a tribunal over alleged abuse of its dominance in the social media industry, TechCrunch reports. Read more »
-
South Africa: Meta Faces Prosecution for Alleged Antitrust Breach
TechCrunch, 15 March 2022
Meta is facing prosecution in South Africa, after the country's competition regulator, the Competition Commission, found as uncompetitive its intention to block the government's… Read more »
South African Watchdog Targets Meta Over its 'Abuse of Dominance'
The Competition Commission has referred Meta (the new name for the Facebook company) to a tribunal over alleged abuse of its dominance in the social media industry.
The commission, which had been investigating claims of unfair conduct against the multi-billion dollar firm since March 2021, recommended that Meta pay a fine of 10% of the U.S. company's local turnover. The Facebook and WhatsApp owner allegedly threatened to block GovChat and its subsidiary #LetsTalk from using its WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (API). GovChat is a startup that was launched in 2018 by the South African government and used the WhatsApp Business API to facilitate real time communication between government and citizens. According to government data, it had over 8.7 million active users.
According to Reuters, WhatsApp defended its exclusion of GovChat from its API over its alleged failure to comply with Meta's terms of service. A statement from a WhatsApp spokesperson read: "GovChat has repeatedly refused to comply with our policies which are designed to protect citizens and their information, preferring to prioritise their own commercial interests over the public. We will continue to defend WhatsApp from abuse."
Documents
-
16 March 2022
GovChat Statement on Competition Commission Referring Facebook for Prosecution
- Publisher:
- GovChat
- Publication Date:
GovChat welcomes the Competition Commission statement made on 14 March 2022. The Commission announced that it has referred, Meta Platforms Inc ... see more »
-
16 March 2022
Facebook Prosecuted for Abusing Its Dominance
- Publisher:
- Competition Commission of South Africa
- Publication Date:
The Competition Commission (the Commission) has referred to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution the social media giant, Meta Platforms Inc ... see more »
InFocus
-
The Cambridge Analytica scandal appears to be symptomatic of much deeper challenges that Facebook must confront if it's to become a force for good in the global fight against false ... Read more »
-
The South African National Editors' Forum has said that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are being used to bully, harass and threaten journalists. Read more »
