Several African competition watchdogs plan to collectively examine the market behavior of global digital firms, with tech giants such as Google and Meta facing investigations and remedial actions in other jurisdictions. are on alert.
The planned investigation follows last month’s decisions by regulators in Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, The Gambia and Zambia to establish working groups to cooperate on concerns related to competition and consumer welfare in Africa. Founded
The Common Market for East Africa (COMESA) Competition Committee, representing 21 countries, was also part of the new working group and agreed to raise mutual concerns affecting Africa’s digital markets, among other agenda items. The group will also foster joint action against obstacles that limit the emergence and expansion of digital platforms in Africa.
This new development follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Member States in 2022 and the decision last month to establish a working group and leadership team.
Member States can also develop and/or fill gaps in the legislative instrument.
“Members collectively seek to identify market conduct that has been subject to investigation and remedial action in other international jurisdictions but has remained neglected in African markets, harming African consumers, businesses and economies. We have confirmed that we need to investigate,” said Dr. Adano Wario. The Acting Competition Commissioner of Kenya, one of its member states, told TechCrunch.
“One of the several activities in the pipeline is cross-border market research on digital markets, focusing on issues related to competition and consumer welfare concerns in Africa,” Wario said. increase.
However, while regulators cooperate in conducting market research, enforcement by Member States is independent and in accordance with their laws. It is estimated that two-thirds of his African countries have competition laws, with the rest covered by the laws of regional bodies such as the Continental Free Trade Area and his COMESA.
The group said its focus areas are e-commerce, aggregator services (online travel agencies and online advertising), matchmaking services (electronic ride-hailing and delivery services such as Uber and Glovo), and digital advertising (search and social media such as Google). site). , and Facebook), fintech, and app stores.
Wario added that member states agreed to conduct joint investigations. It allows partners to share information about investigations without compromising their commitment to confidentiality to ensure coherent and consistent decisions are reached and optimal use of scarce resources to promote healthy regional competition. be able to.
He said the strategy would ensure competitive markets and efficient enforcement of competition laws and policies in digital markets, which would foster the growth of digital enterprises in Africa.
“Digital companies with a global presence may bring innovation to African markets, but they may also hinder the development of domestic platforms. Ensuring proper enforcement in this evolving field, including a clear understanding of the law, could have a positive impact on our economy.”
Meta has faced various types of scrutiny over the last year for possible anti-competitive behavior in Africa, but most recently, a consumer welfare violation ruling by Jumia, the pan-Africa e-commerce platform, led to a breach of contract terms. I had to revise it.
Globally, major technology companies such as Google and Meta have been repeatedly investigated and faced remedial action for antitrust violations in the US and Europe. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Google in January for alleged antitrust violations, arguing that Google has exclusive control over the digital advertising market. Meanwhile, Meta was recently found to have abused its control to benefit the European Facebook marketplace.
