Netflix and WhatsApp under investigation in South Africa

South Africa’s telecommunications regulator plans to investigate prices charged by digital media and communications service providers such as Netflix and Meta’s WhatsApp, Business Day reported.

The probe will assess the cost of so-called over-the-top services to consumers, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said on Monday, citing an announcement from the authority.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa will also initiate a separate inquiry into the cost of telecommunications services that may weigh on major firms, including MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C, the paper said.

Telecommunications service costs in South Africa are among the highest in the world.

The inquiry will also build on the regulator’s earlier reviews of data services and its monitoring of prices following the allocation of high-speed internet spectrum and the introduction of competition measures, the paper said.

The probe comes after the country’s communications minister sought experts to identify policies and interventions that could help lower prices, it said.

The regulator’s spokeswoman didn’t answer her phone when Bloomberg called outside normal business hours seeking comment.