SA’s competition commission cracks down on dominant online platforms

South Africa’s competition commission has launched a report outlining the findings of an investigation into aggressive practices of some main online platforms and remedial actions to these practices it deemed as anti-competitive.

South Africa’s competition commission has launched its Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (OIPMI) last report [pdf]. The report is a end result of just about two years of investigations into native and worldwide business-to-consumer (B2C) online platform markets and identifies options that adversely have an effect on competition in these markets.

It features a set of remedial actions that platforms, and a few companies, are required to implement to treatment the recognized market options that adversely have an effect on competition.

The platforms required to implement remedial actions are main platforms akin to Google, Booking.com, Takealot, Apple, Uber Eats, Mr D Food, Property24, Private Property, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za. Other companies embrace nationwide restaurant chains, Bolt Food, and Prop Data.

Key findings

Some of the findings embrace that Google Search is a essential gateway to customers for all platforms and its enterprise mannequin of paid search alongside free outcomes favours massive established platforms. 

With regards to journey, Booking.com’s restrictions on lodge pricing on different online channels limits competition and creates a dependency that’s used to extract increased commission charges. In e-commerce, Takealot faces a battle of curiosity on its website as its retail division competes with {the marketplace} sellers main to behavior that has deprived sellers. 

Google Play and Apple App shops are unconstrained within the commission charges they cost app builders, and their world enterprise mannequin limits the curation and visibility of SA-paid apps. Another discovering is that opponents to Uber Eats and Mr D Food are deprived by the dearth of transparency on menu surcharges throughout platforms and restrictions positioned on franchisees by nationwide restaurant chains. 

According to the report, opponents to Property24 and Private Property are hindered by the dearth of interoperability in offering property listings, and small property brokers and automotive sellers are deprived by the discriminatory pricing of Property24, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za which favours massive nationwide teams.

Remedial actions

To tackle these findings, the OIPMI has included remedial actions which embrace Google offering a South African badge and search filter to assist shopper assist for SA platforms and introducing a brand new platform websites unit to show smaller SA platforms related to the search, together with coaching and R180m in promoting credit. Google is to implement in SA modifications it makes in Europe to handle self-preferencing.

Booking.com is required to take away the restrictive pricing clauses from its

contracts whereas Takealot is to segregate its retail division from its market operations. This will forestall the latter’s retail companies from accessing vendor information and unilaterally stopping sellers from competing for sure manufacturers. 

Additionally, Google Play and Apple App shops are to cease stopping apps from directing customers to pay on the app’s web site and to make sure continued free use by customers of content material bought from that web site, together with native app curation. 

Uber Eats and Mr D Food are required to tell customers that they cost eating places a commission payment. Additionally, they’re anticipated to speak that menu objects could also be priced otherwise to takeaway menus, and that restaurant chains could not unreasonably limit the selection of meals supply service by franchisees. 

Property classifieds are required to place in place the flexibility of property companies to share their listings with different classifieds. Property24, AutoTrader, andCars.co.za are additionally required to considerably cut back the worth of listings to small and medium unbiased companies and sellers.

According to the commission, remedial actions ought to present the next advantages to platforms, companies, and customers: better visibility and alternative for smaller South African platforms; allow extra intense platform competition; stage the enjoying subject for small companies promoting via these platforms; and supply a extra inclusive digital economic system.

All platforms can be given time to implement the remedial actions relying on the complexity of the treatment.