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Araxi says Meta’s actions led to GovChat’s collapse.
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Competition case against Meta remains before South Africa’s Tribunal.
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Regulator alleges abuse of market dominance.
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Case highlights the risks of building businesses on third-party platforms.
August 06, (THEWILL) — Millions of South Africans once used GovChat to check social grants, access COVID-19 information and connect with government services through WhatsApp.
Today, the platform sits at the centre of one of Africa’s biggest competition battles against a global technology company.
In its latest annual report for the year ended March 31, 2026, JSE-listed Araxi Holdings alleged that Meta’s conduct on WhatsApp contributed to GovChat’s collapse, accusing the technology giant of anti-competitive behaviour that prevented the platform from continuing to operate.
The dispute dates back to 2021, when WhatsApp moved to remove GovChat from its Business API.
Meta said the platform breached its policies by presenting itself as an official government service, combining multiple government departments under a single WhatsApp account and collecting sensitive personal information without adequate safeguards.
GovChat rejected those claims, arguing that Meta was attempting to push it out of the market so it could pursue direct relationships with government institutions.
That disagreement eventually landed before South Africa’s Competition Commission, which referred the matter to the Competition Tribunal in 2022.
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The Commission alleges that Meta abused its dominant position by restricting GovChat’s access to WhatsApp’s platform and is seeking an administrative penalty of up to 10 per cent of the combined turnover of Meta Platforms, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa.
However, Tribunal has not reached a final decision, and the matter remains in its pre-trial stage.
Meta has declined to comment publicly on the latest claims, saying it does not discuss ongoing legal proceedings.
A Bigger Question Than One Company
The case stretches far beyond GovChat.
Across Africa, thousands of businesses rely on platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon to reach customers, process payments, advertise products or deliver services.
Those platforms create enormous opportunities, but they also set the rules.
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If access changes, pricing shifts or accounts are suspended, businesses built around those ecosystems can find themselves struggling almost overnight.
That concern has increasingly attracted regulators around the world. Authorities in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and several African countries have stepped up investigations into large technology companies over allegations ranging from anti-competitive conduct to restrictions on rivals and unfair treatment of businesses that depend on their platforms.
For startups, the GovChat dispute offers a broader lesson that extends beyond South Africa. Building on another company’s platform can accelerate growth, but it also means part of your business depends on decisions you do not control.
The Competition Tribunal’s eventual ruling will determine the legal outcome of GovChat’s case.
Regardless of that decision, the dispute has already become an important test of how far platform owners can go in enforcing their rules and where competition regulators believe the limits should lie.
