South Africa Penalizes Google, Meta for Antitrust Moves

South Africa’s antitrust watchdog penalized technology companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook for anti-competitive practices it said hurt local media companies.

The Competition Commission recommended Google pay local news outlets as much as 500 million rand ($27 million) annually for as many as five years, saying its conduct hinders the ability of the news media to secure and monetize digital traffic.