Several competition watchdogs in Africa plan to collectively question the market conduct of global digital companies, putting on alert big tech companies like Google and Meta, which have faced investigations and remedial actions in other jurisdictions.
The planned investigations follow a decision by regulators in Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, the Gambia and Zambia last month to establish a working group for collaboration on competition and consumer welfare concerns in Africa.
The Competition Commission for the Common Markets of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which represents 21 countries, is also part of the new working group, which agreed, among other things, to raise mutual concerns affecting African digital markets. The group will also encourage collaborative action against the obstacles that limit the emergence and expansion of African digital platforms.
The new development follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding by member states in 2022 and the decision to establish a working group and leadership team last month.
Member states will also be able to develop and/or fill gaps in their legislative instruments.
“Members identified the need to collectively challenge market conduct that has been the subject of investigation and corrective action in other international jurisdictions, but remains neglected in African markets to the detriment of African consumers, businesses and economies,” he said. Dr. Adano Wario, the acting director general of the Kenya Competition Authority, one of the member states, told TechCrunch.
“One of several activities in the pipeline is cross-border market research on digital markets that focuses on issues related to competition and consumer welfare in Africa,” Wario said.
However, while regulators will conduct market consultations collaboratively, member states will do so independently and in accordance with their laws. An estimated two-thirds of the countries in Africa have competition laws, with the rest covered by the laws of regional bodies such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and COMESA.
The group said its focus areas will be e-commerce, aggregator services (online travel agents and online classified ads), matchmaking services (delivery services and e-calls like Uber and Glovo), digital advertising (search sites and social networks like Google and Facebook), fintech and app stores.
Wario added that member states have agreed to conduct joint investigations where partners can share information about investigations without prejudice to confidentiality commitments, to ensure the achievement of coherent and consistent decisions, and optimal use of limited resources to promote sound regional competition.
The strategy, he said, will ensure efficient enforcement of competition law and policy in digital markets, ensuring a competitive market and fostering the growth of African digital businesses.
“Digital companies with a global presence can bring innovation to African markets, but they can also stifle the development of national platforms. Therefore, there is the potential to positively impact our economies by ensuring proper application in this evolving space, which includes having a clear understanding of the barriers to entry and expansion affecting local platforms,” Wario said.
Last year, Meta was subjected to various kinds of scrutiny for possible anti-competitive behavior in Africa, while, more recently, a verdict on consumer welfare breaches by pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia forced it to revise its terms. and conditions.
Globally, big tech companies like Google and Meta have been investigated multiple times and faced remedial action for antitrust violations in the US and Europe. For example, the US Department of Justice sued Google in January over alleged antitrust issues, alleging it has monopoly control of the digital ad market, while Meta was recently found to be abusing its domain to benefit its Facebook Marketplace. in Europe.
