South Africa, Feb. 24 -- In provisional findings from a probe into market activities, released on Monday, South Africa's Competition Commission said that Google's algorithm distorts competition between news media organisations insofar as it overrepresents global news media in South Africa for search and top stories and underrepresents local language and community media.

"This inequity has materially contributed to the erosion of the media in South Africa over the past 14 years and will continue to do so unless remedied," the watchdog's report said.

To remedy this, it recommended that Google compensate the South African news media by R300m to R500m annually for a three to five-year period, "whilst putting in place changes to search that ...