Competition Commission Releases Online Intermediation Platform Market Inquiry Provisional Summary Report

On 13 July 2022, the South African Competition Commission (“Commission”) released a Provisional Summary Report (“Report”) on the Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (“OIPMI” or “Inquiry”) which was initiated on 19 May 2021. The Commission initiated the Inquiry following reason to believe that certain features of the online intermediation platforms market could be impeding, distorting or restricting competition.

The Commission placed specific emphasis on getting small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) and historically disadvantaged persons (“HDPs”) to participate in the relevant markets, and premised the Inquiry on the following competition and public interest considerations in relation to market features:

• Hampering competition between the actual platforms;
• Hindering competition between business users or undermining consumer choice;
• Giving rise to abusive treatment of business users; and
• Which may have disadvantageous impacts on the ability of SMEs and/or HDPs to participate in the market.

The Commission further noted a lack of participation by HDPs as a common thread which prevails in the online intermediation platforms market, which seems to languish in an untransformed state relative to the broader South African economy…

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