BusinessDayTV · Sep 28, 2026
With Chris Borain, Executive Director of IAB South Africa
A growing share of what South African advertisers spend online leaves the country untaxed and ends up with Google, Facebook and TikTok, routed through Ireland or other jurisdictions, Chris Borain said.
Regulators have started fining the platforms. Borain said those fines are small next to what local media has lost over 10 to 15 years, and that AI now threatens to empty out newsrooms and ad agencies faster than new jobs appear.
"But the end result of that is that you get stuff written by AI, read by AI and there's no human interaction there at all."
Chris Borain, Executive Director of IAB South Africa, on BusinessDayTV's BAM! program. The IAB represents the country's digital publishers and advertising agencies, sets measurement standards and speaks for their shared interests.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 7 arguments that matter.
Key Takeaways
Online ad money leaves South Africa untaxed and goes to Google, Facebook and TikTok
Fines on the platforms are "a drop in the ocean" next to 10 to 15 years of lost revenue, Borain said
AI threatens to hollow out newsrooms, creative teams and media planners
Publishers have to negotiate with AI companies as a group, or one holdout breaks the deal
Global ad standards need local terms, because South Africa is a different market
Staff cut by big media groups are starting their own AI-assisted agencies, which he calls "the rise of the independent"
Hyperlocal newspapers and radio stations earn the best revenue in South African media today
1. Ad Money Goes Offshore
The host asked where South African media stands between local and global pressures. Borain said the IAB represents publishers and agencies, and that the number of people using digital platforms in South Africa is large.
Local outlets compete with global platforms
He said local publishers compete with the international platforms, and that the problem is the same everywhere: advertising money that should support local media "disappears straight out of the South African ecosystem doesn't get taxed and it goes straight through to Ireland or some other jurisdiction and it goes into the pockets of Google, Facebook, TikTok etc."
"So we find ourselves at that crossroads where we want to help the digital ecosystem grow and Facebook and Google are part of that but we also want to try and make sure that our own media system is sustainable going forward." — Chris Borain
