SANEF urges Competition Commission to ensure SA media houses are paid fairly for content

JOHANNESBURG - The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) has called on the Competition Commission to ensure that media houses in the country are paid fairly for their content.

The forum took part in the commission's Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry in Tshwane on Monday, where it made its appeal orally to the commission's authorities.

The Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry is a three-week probe initiated by the Competition Commission that kicked off on Monday.

SANEF is represented by chairperson Sbu Ngalwa, founding member Guy Berger and legal representative Michael Power.

The forum asked the commission to ensure equal sharing of data between media houses in the country and tech giants abroad.

It raised issues widely experienced by women journalists on social media app X specifically, including misogyny, bullying and harassment.

SANEF's submission also included several points, such as the provision of access to credible news should be considered a human right and the transparency of algorithms related to advertising on social platforms.

According to the commission, X declined to appear before the commission.