WhatsApp has become the main communication service in many countries, and especially so in South Africa. Now the industry watchdog has placed Netflix and WhatsApp under scrutiny in a recent announcement.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has announced two inquiries. One will examine the impact of over-the-top services, including Netflix and WhatsApp, on consumers and the communications, broadcasting and postal sectors. The other will investigate the affordability of telecommunications services.
The announcement is welcome. But it raises a larger question: why does it take another inquiry to establish what South Africans already know? Communication is expensive.
WhatsApp is useful. The cost of using it used to be reasonable. But as data prices rise, and the app acquires more functions, the cost of staying connected becomes harder to ignore. The company says WhatsApp is free, but data charges may apply. For many South Africans, that distinction is not a small one.
The decline of the traditional landline has made the cellphone indispensable. WhatsApp has filled much of the gap. It allows people to communicate, form groups, conduct business and stay in touch with family. In rural areas, where access to services can be limited, that is particularly important.
WhatsApp is no longer simply a messaging app. It has become part of the country’s social and economic infrastructure.
That is why its cost matters.
The app was founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton. Koum was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the United States as a teenager. Acton is American. They had both worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp. In 2014, Facebook acquired the company for about $19bn.
The acquisition changed the scale of the business. WhatsApp joined a company whose business model is built around advertising and the collection of data. Facebook has since become Meta, and WhatsApp now sits alongside Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
The change is not simply a matter of ownership. It is a change in the way technology companies operate.
The more functions an app offers, the more data it can consume. Images, videos, voice messages, video calls and other features all use data. Artificial intelligence adds another layer of complexity. For people who rely on WhatsApp for everyday communication, the cost is not always obvious until the data bundle runs out.
And then there is the advertising.
Facebook, Instagram and Threads are increasingly commercial platforms. Much of what users see is either an advertisement or information designed to look like something else. The distinction between content and advertising has become increasingly blurred.
Many people have already given up on Facebook, not only because of the constant stream of messages and notifications, but because the platform no longer seems to meet their needs. It is still useful for keeping in touch with old friends and occasionally seeing what they are doing. But much of the content has become advertising, or information thinly disguised as advertising.
Instagram is another example. For people who post photographs or art, it can be difficult to get noticed. The platform is so crowded that it is increasingly difficult to reach an audience without paying for promotion.
But WhatsApp remains different.
It is still a service that people use because they need it. It is where people arrange meetings, run businesses, share information and keep in touch with family. That makes it particularly important in a country where communication costs remain high.
The latest ICASA announcement is therefore welcome. But it is important to understand what it means.
The regulator has not announced that WhatsApp is charging too much, nor has it decided that the company must reduce its prices. The inquiry will examine the impact of over-the-top services and the cost of telecommunications more broadly. It is a process of investigation, not a decision that prices will come down.
And that brings us to the bigger issue.
If the government is serious about making communication more affordable, it needs to look beyond WhatsApp. It needs to examine the cost of data, the cost of voice calls and the way the telecommunications market operates.
The country’s major operators include MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C. They are the companies that provide the networks on which services such as WhatsApp depend.
The cost of making a cellular call is another matter that deserves attention. Many people now dread making a call because of the expense. A few minutes of conversation can cost more than expected, especially for those who rely on prepaid services.
And then there is the question of data expiry.
South Africans have long complained about buying data bundles that expire before they can be used. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition raised the issue with the National Consumer Commission, ICASA and the Competition Commission in September 2025. The committee questioned whether data expiry practices were consistent with the Consumer Protection Act.
That is an important issue because data is not free. People pay for it. If they do not use it before the expiry date, they lose it. That is not a trivial matter for households already under financial pressure.
The government has indicated that new rules on data expiry are expected from January 2027. But consumers will want to know whether the rules will be effective, and whether the big companies will find ways around them.
The telecommunications industry has also been pushing for over-the-top services to contribute to the cost of network infrastructure. The Association of Communications and Technology, which represents major players in the sector, has called for “fair share” or “fair contribution” arrangements.
That is another reason why the latest inquiry matters. The question is not simply whether WhatsApp is expensive. It is whether the current structure of the communications market is fair to consumers.
The answer should not be to make WhatsApp more expensive. It should be to make communication more affordable.
South Africa needs affordable data. It needs affordable voice calls. It needs reliable networks. And it needs a regulatory system that ensures that the benefits of digital communication reach the people who need them most.
WhatsApp has become too important to the country to be treated as just another app. It is a vital part of the communications system.
The government has now opened the door to another inquiry. Let’s see whether this one produces something more than another report.
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