The Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has issued rulings in a series of interlocutory applications in the alleged abuse of dominance case involving Meta Platforms Inc. (“Meta”), WhatsApp Inc. (“WhatsApp”) and Facebook South Africa (Pty) Ltd (“Facebook”).

The rulings follow hearings held from 1 to 3 December 2025, ahead of the main proceedings in which Meta, WhatsApp and Facebook are accused of abusing their dominant position by attempting to off-board GovChat (Pty) Ltd (“GovChat”) and its subsidiary, #LetsTalk (Pty) Ltd (“#LetsTalk”), from the WhatsApp platform.

The interlocutory applications concerned disputes over discovery, evidentiary issues and a summons issued to a GovChat witness. Specifically, the Tribunal heard:

  • An application to compel discovery by GovChat and #LetsTalk, seeking an order directing Meta, WhatsApp and Facebook to provide full responses to their October 2024 discovery request, including document-by-document disclosure and compliance with a further and better discovery demand. GovChat and #LetsTalk alleged non-compliance and prejudicial conduct;
  • A parallel application to compel discovery by Meta, WhatsApp and Facebook, seeking to compel GovChat and #LetsTalk to meet their own discovery obligations, on the basis that their responses to initial and further discovery requests were inadequate and had impeded progress;
  • An application by Mr Bradley Sacks, in his capacity as the CEO of Capital Appreciation, a shareholder of GovChat, to set aside a summons, issued at the request of Meta and WhatsApp, requiring him to produce documents and information; and
  • A strike-out application by Meta, WhatsApp and Facebook, seeking the removal of portions of evidence contained in two witness statements filed by GovChat and #LetsTalk.

Tribunal decisions

The Tribunal has ruled as follows:

  • In GovChat’s application to compel further discovery, the Tribunal has issued an order requiring further discovery and regulating the process in respect of the discovery going forward;
  • Meta’s application to compel further discovery has been dismissed. The Tribunal’s reasons will be issued in due course;
  • Mr Sacks’s application to set aside the summons has been dismissed. The Tribunal’s reasons will be issued in due course; and
  • The Tribunal’s ruling on the strike out application will be issued in due course.

Background

GovChat is a citizen engagement platform built on WhatsApp’s technology. It worked extensively with government departments during the Covid-19 pandemic. In November 2020, GovChat and #LetsTalk approached the Tribunal for interim relief after being notified that they could be “off-boarded” from the WhatsApp platform for alleged non-compliance with WhatsApp’s terms of use. Following a hearing, the Tribunal granted interim relief, preventing their removal while the Competition Commission (“Commission”) investigated GovChat’s complaint.

In March 2022, the Commission referred the complaint of alleged abuse of dominance to the Tribunal for prosecution. GovChat and #LetsTalk subsequently applied to the Tribunal for participation rights in the proceedings, which the Tribunal granted in July 2023 following a hearing. The recent interlocutory proceedings were heard ahead of the hearing of the merits in the main matter, to address the above pre-trial disputes between the parties.