Facebook parent company Meta has vowed to defend its platforms from “abuse”, as the social media giant faces prosecution in South Africa for its alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the country.
The company was responding to the Competition Commission, which yesterday said it has referred to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution of the social media giant, Meta Platforms (previously known as Facebook), and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa (collectively referred to as Facebook) for abuse of dominance.
The watchdog alleges Facebook, in the first instance, decided in or about July 2020 and expressed an ongoing intention to offboard GovChat and #LetsTalk, a technology start-up that connects government and citizens, from the WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (WhatsApp Business API).
In the second instance, it adds, Facebook imposed and/or selectively enforced exclusionary terms and conditions regulating access to the WhatsApp Business API, mainly restrictions on the use of data.
According to the competition watchdog, this is in contravention of the Competition Act.
The commission has asked the tribunal to impose a maximum penalty against Meta Platforms, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa, which is 10% of their collective turnover.
In response, a WhatsApp spokesperson says: “WhatsApp helps to provide people with important information from trusted sources, and we are aware of the role the service plays in connecting South African citizens with their government.
“That’s why we want to work with GovChat in compliance with internationally recognised regulatory standards to provide this service. However, GovChat has repeatedly refused to comply with our policies which are designed to protect citizens and their information, preferring to prioritise its own commercial interests over the public. We will continue to defend WhatsApp from abuse and protect our users.”
The social media company adds that WhatsApp’s conduct to date has been entirely consistent with the provisions of the Competition Act, and it is simply looking to apply its terms and conditions fairly.
“There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest WhatsApp has tried to exclude any firm from the market or engaged in anti-competitive conduct.
“GovChat is a private, for-profit company, operating in a highly competitive market. It knowingly provides messaging services which do not comply with the WhatsApp Terms of Service. The WhatsApp Terms of Service are designed to protect users and businesses from fraud and abuse.”
According to Meta, GovChat broke these terms by signing up organisations to the WhatsApp API without going through its onboarding process.
“This is required for all organisations who wish to use our service and means we know who is using our services and that organisations agree to our privacy practices. WhatsApp will defend its right to take all reasonable steps to protect its proprietary WhatsApp Business API and the interests of users across the world.”
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