(Bloomberg) — South Africa is looking to crack down on Meta Platforms Inc. over an alleged abuse of dominance, after the U.S. social media giant formerly known as Facebook decided to remove a local platform called GovChat.
The country’s Competition Commission is recommending a fine equal to 10% of Meta’s South African revenues, according to a statement. The U.S. company said GovChat did not comply with its required processes, and therefore had to be cut from the WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface.
“GovChat has repeatedly refused to comply with our policies, which are designed to protect citizens and their information, preferring to prioritize its own commercial interests over the public,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The Competition Commission said GovChat is used by the South African state to interact with citizens on subjects such as Covid-19 vaccination drives. In turn, the public can inform provincial governments about road potholes, missed garbage collections and more.
“Facebook’s decision to remove GovChat from the WhatsApp Business API and its exclusionary terms of data usage are untenable,” Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said in a statement.
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