Facebook, Microsoft, and Google have voiced their opposition to possible regulation of over-the-top (OTT) services such as WhatsApp and Skype in South Africa.
Representatives of these companies addressed their concerns at a meeting on OTT regulation at Parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The meeting was organised by the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services after the CEOs of MTN South Africa and Vodacom last year said that OTT services don't contribute financially to local networks. The two companies also made calls to explore OTT regulation.
At Parliament's OTT meeting on Tuesday, MTN discussed the issues it has with OTTs, which range from these internet services not paying taxes to South Africa's government to security around users' personal information.
But Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda - who is the public policy manager at Google South Africa - argued against regulation as he said the search giant pays tax in South Africa.