Namibia to change law before demanding payment from tech giants

By: Eric Mhunduru

The Namibian Competition Commission says the country does not have laws similar to South Africa’s, where tech giants have been ordered to millions to the media.

South Africa’s Competition Commission ordered Google to pay that country’s media anything between R300 million to R500 million as compensation for using its content.

The inquiry estimates that Google benefits from news content by R800 million to R900 million annually, while the South African media loses R300 million to R500 million.

The commission also ruled that tech giants must improve the future balance of competition and revenue by removing search biases in favour of foreign media, ceasing to deprioritise news on social media feeds and improving the ability to monetise content.

Namibia, however, will have to wait for the law to be changed.

The Director of Enforcement and Cartels Division at the Namibia Competition Commission, Paulus Hangula, said Namibia’s laws do not provide for soft regulations, especially regarding market inquiries.