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The Digest:

Google will pay over $40 million to South African news outlets after a competition inquiry found the company's practices reduced monetization opportunities and favored large foreign media over local sources.

Key Points:
  • Google has agreed to a $40.2 million (688 million rand) support package.
  • The deal follows an inquiry by South Africa's Competition Commission.
  • The inquiry found Google dominated key information gateways without compensating local media.
  • It noted a sharp decline in referral traffic to news websites due to AI summaries.
  • Google's algorithms were found to favor large foreign outlets over local ones.
  • The package will fund content licensing, innovation grants, and capacity building.
  • Google will also introduce new tools to prioritize local news sources.
This landmark agreement represents a significant step in rebalancing the power dynamic between global tech platforms and the local journalism ecosystems they both depend on and disrupt.

Sources: The Cable