SA Government Demands TikTok Pay Creators for Viral Content Generating Millions of Views

South African creators are generating millions of TikTok views with no direct payment from the platform, and the government wants that to change.

Trisha has 413,000 followers. Her videos accumulate millions of views. She earns nothing from TikTok itself. “I don’t earn on the app. I only make money through brand deals and other opportunities, not through my videos,” she said. Her experience is not unusual. Across South Africa, creators who drive trends, promote local music and culture, and entertain audiences on multiple continents are locked out of TikTok’s Creator Rewards Programme, the mechanism through which the platform pays eligible creators directly based on video performance.

The programme operates in only a small number of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and Brazil. Africa is excluded entirely.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has made the exclusion a formal government concern. He argues the disparity has no defensible basis. “The reality is that the TikTok Creator Rewards Programme exists in only a few countries and does not benefit content creators in Africa, especially South Africa,” Malatsi said. “There is no good reason why South African creators should be left out.” TikTok has offered the government explanations for the exclusion, but Malatsi indicated he finds them unconvincing.

The minister has framed the issue as one of economic fairness and delivery failure. South African musicians, comedians, dancers and influencers have been instrumental in growing TikTok’s reach across the continent, helping songs, dance challenges and trends reach global audiences. The platform benefits from that reach. The creators do not, at least not through any direct payment channel.

Meanwhile, those creators have been forced to build workarounds. Brand deals and sponsored posts have become the primary income mechanism. Creator Nombulelo reported earning between R10,000 and R15,000 per sponsored post. That income is real, but it depends on attracting brand partners rather than on the platform itself compensating creators for the audiences they build. It is a workaround, not a structural solution.

The government’s position is that access to TikTok’s direct payment system would do more than benefit individual creators. The digital content creation sector has emerged as one of South Africa’s fastest-growing industries for young entrepreneurs. Formalizing creator payments could expand job opportunities, help young people build sustainable digital businesses and retain more digital income within the domestic economy. Malatsi said the department is in active discussions with TikTok and is mobilizing support from other African countries to strengthen the continent’s collective position. “I refuse to accept this,” he stated.

For now, the operational reality is unchanged. South African creators continue producing content that generates millions of views for a platform that does not pay them directly for it. The gap between what creators deliver and what the platform returns to them remains wide. Whether the ongoing negotiations between government and TikTok produce a concrete change in programme eligibility, and on what timeline, is the question the country’s growing creator economy is waiting to have answered.