President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices, unlawful exploitation of news content and other potentially unfair market conduct against Nigerian media organisations.
The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
The Federal Government’s position was conveyed to the FCCPC in a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The commission said the investigation would focus on complaints against major technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet, X, formerly Twitter, and certain Generative AI platforms operating in Nigeria.
The NPO had raised concerns over what it described as practices capable of “undermining fair competition, the commercial viability of Nigerian media organisations, and the legitimate rights of content creators and publishers.”
Reacting to the directive, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the commission would carry out an independent, transparent and evidence-based investigation into the allegations.
“We recognise the strategic importance of the media to Nigeria’s democracy and the equally significant role of technology in driving innovation and economic growth,” Bello said.
“Our responsibility is to objectively determine the facts and ensure that competition within the digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent, and consistent with Nigerian law.”
Bello stressed that the investigation was not a witch-hunt against any company but a fact-finding process aimed at determining whether there had been any abuse of market power or unfair business conduct.
“This inquiry is not directed at any entity by presumption of wrongdoing,” he said.
“Rather, it is an opportunity to carefully examine the facts, hear from all affected parties, and determine whether any conduct has resulted in anti-competitive outcomes or unfair business practices.”
He added that, “Every party will be accorded a fair opportunity to present relevant information before any conclusions are reached.”
According to him, the commission’s task is to determine “whether the practices in question constitute a breach of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable law.”
The FCCPC said the probe would examine allegations of market dominance and anti-competitive conduct by the technology firms, as well as claims of “unauthorised extraction, scraping, ingestion, or commercial utilisation of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials, and other original journalistic content for the development and training of Generative Artificial Intelligence models.”
The commission will also investigate concerns over what it described as “the lack of equitable commercial engagement between global tech companies and Nigerian news publishers.”
“Central to this is the allegation that affected media organisations have been denied meaningful opportunities to negotiate fair compensation or appropriate commercial arrangements for the use of their journalistic content,” the commission said.
The FCCPC said the investigation could open “a new vista in Nigeria’s media history,” coming amid growing concern in the industry over the impact of global digital platforms on the sustainability of the country’s news ecosystem.
“In recent years, concerns have been raised by the Nigerian media industry over the growing impact of certain digital platforms on the sustainability of the country’s news ecosystem,” the statement said.
The commission recalled that it had previously investigated Meta and, in 2025, secured a landmark ruling against the company over violations of the FCCPA, including data breach, which resulted in a $220 million fine. Meta has appealed the sanction.
It also cited developments in South Africa, where following similar agitation by media organisations and an investigation by the South African Competition Commission, Google agreed to compensate South African news media with R688 million annually for three to five years.
The planned probe is expected to test the balance between digital innovation and the rights of Nigerian media organisations seeking fair competition, compensation and protection for the use of their content in an increasingly AI-driven and platform-dominated media environment.