South Africa drops plan to investigate Netflix and WhatsApp

• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has withdrawn its notice of intent to launch a market inquiry into over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix and WhatsApp.
• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) announced plans to launch an inquiry into these services in two Government Gazette notices published in early September 2026, to investigate their impact on network licensees.
• The regulator had planned to conduct a 4-phase market inquiry into the impact of these OTT service providers on local operators, but the withdrawal of the notice means the inquiry will not proceed as planned.