X refuses to take part in media inquiry
X Corp is the only global platform refusing to participate in the Competition Commission’s media and digital platforms market inquiry, which started with public hearings yesterday, to examine the distribution of media content on search and social media digital platforms.
The inquiry also includes AI chatbots and assisted search, as well as the advertising technology markets that connect advertisers and news publishers’ websites.
The purpose of the inquiry is to determine if there are any market features that adversely affects competition or undermine the purposes of the Competition Act, and to comprehensively remedy those features, said James Hodge, chair of the inquiry and chief economist and acting deputy commissioner of the commission.
He was joined by panel member and media industry veteran Paula Fray.
Hodge said the panel does not find it acceptable that X Corp, represented by ENS, is refusing to participate, as it denies the inquiry the ability to discuss and debate the submissions made by X Corp, while it also denies the South African public and media the transparency and accountability.
“We also find it ironic that X has taken this position given its own value proposition to users being ‘a real-time, global, open, public conversation platform where people can see every side of a topic, discover news, share their perspectives, and engage in discussion and debate’,” said Hodge.
He said the panel would like to hear from the public and media on whether they think X Corp should participate and the questions they have for them of relevance to the inquiry scope.
The inquiry was launched in October and Hodge said it already gathered extensive information from a wide range of industry stakeholders using submissions made to the Statement of Issues, Further Statement of Issues and Requests for Information.
“The public hearings will present another opportunity for stakeholders to not only provide their perspectives on some of the issues identified by the inquiry to date but also for the panel to discuss and debate with stakeholders their perspectives and their business models,” he said.
The public hearings opened with the South African National Editors’ Forum, the Press Council of South Africa, the Association of Independent Publishers and the Forum of Community Journalists, followed by the International Fund for Public Interest Media.
Today it will be the turn of Media24, followed by Moneyweb, the Washington-based Centre for Journalism and Liberty and the GIBS Media Leadership Think Tank in the afternoon.