President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet (Google), X (formerly Twitter), and several Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unauthorized use of content produced by Nigerian media organisations.
The directive follows a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), a coalition comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
According to the Federal Government, the investigation is intended to determine whether the activities of these technology companies violate Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection laws while undermining the commercial sustainability of the country’s media industry.
In a statement issued by the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the commission confirmed that it had received the presidential directive through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The commission said the investigation will examine allegations that some of the world’s largest digital platforms have engaged in practices capable of distorting fair competition, exploiting copyrighted journalistic content without authorization, and weakening the financial viability of Nigerian news organisations.
The FCCPC noted that concerns have continued to grow within Nigeria’s media industry over the increasing use of news articles, broadcast materials and other original content by digital platforms and Generative AI systems without adequate compensation to publishers and content creators.
According to the commission, one of the major areas of focus will be whether technology companies unlawfully scrape, extract, ingest or commercially utilize copyrighted Nigerian news content to develop and train Artificial Intelligence models without obtaining consent or providing fair compensation to the original publishers.
The investigation will also assess allegations that media organisations have been denied meaningful opportunities to negotiate commercial agreements with technology firms whose platforms benefit from the widespread distribution of their content.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, stressed that the investigation would be transparent, independent and evidence-based.
He explained that the commission is not approaching the inquiry with any assumption of wrongdoing but is committed to establishing the facts through a fair process that allows every party involved to present its position.
According to Bello, the commission recognizes both the vital role of the media in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy and the importance of technology in driving innovation and economic development. He said the objective is to ensure that competition within Nigeria’s digital economy remains fair, transparent and fully compliant with existing laws.
The FCCPC will determine whether the practices identified in the petition amount to violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, or any other applicable legislation governing competition, intellectual property and consumer rights.
The investigation comes at a time when governments around the world are increasingly scrutinizing the relationship between global technology companies and media organisations. Several countries have already introduced regulations requiring digital platforms to negotiate revenue-sharing agreements with news publishers whose content attracts users and advertising revenue.
In Nigeria, media organisations have repeatedly expressed concerns over declining advertising income and the growing dominance of global digital platforms that distribute, monetize and increasingly utilize locally produced news content without corresponding financial returns to publishers.
The latest probe also follows the FCCPC’s previous enforcement action against Meta, which resulted in a $220 million penalty over alleged breaches of Nigeria’s competition and consumer protection laws, including issues relating to data privacy. That decision is currently under appeal.
By directing the investigation, the Federal Government is signaling its intention to strengthen oversight of digital platforms operating in Nigeria while ensuring that local media organisations and content creators receive fair value for their intellectual property in an increasingly AI-driven digital economy.
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