Did South Africa just crack the code on tech publisher deals?

South Africa just announced the most intriguing deal I’ve seen yet for tech platforms to support premium publishers. It follows Australia deals in Canada, Europe, the UK, Denmark and a growing list of others testing multi-year, multi-million-dollar arrangements, and at first glance, the package looks familiar: Money for content.

But then it turns into new territory. Google has agreed to let users customise Search to prioritise preferred South African news sources, and to give publishers stronger levers to opt out of AI training and AI products.

Most striking though is Google’s own framing. It used its official blog to say supporting local media a shared responsibility and urged other tech firms to follow.

I’m joined by James Hodge, chief economist at South Africa’s Competition Commission who chaired the inquiry, and Paula Fray, the inquiry’s media expert, to unpack how the deal was done, and whether it can actually shift the media-tech landscape.

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