President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Nigeria’s apex consumer and fair-market regulatory body, to investigate major technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms operating in Nigeria over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unfair use of news content.
The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the Presidency by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), the umbrella body representing Nigeria’s major media industry stakeholders comprising of 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).
In a statement signed by the FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, the Commission noted that the President’s directive was communicated through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
The investigation marks a significant step in addressing growing concerns within Nigeria’s media industry about the impact of global digital platforms on the country’s news ecosystem. The NPO has expressed concern that companies such as Meta, Alphabet (Google), X (formerly Twitter), and some Generative AI platforms may be engaging in practices that undermine fair competition, weaken the financial sustainability of Nigerian media organisations, and infringe on the rights of publishers and content creators.
Mr Tunji Bello, FCCPC’s Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said the Commission would carry out an independent, transparent, and evidence-based investigation.
According to Mr Bello, the inquiry is not based on any assumption of wrongdoing but is intended to establish the facts. He said all parties involved would have a fair opportunity to present their positions before any conclusions are reached.
The Commission will examine whether any of the reported practices violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable Nigerian law.
Among the issues to be investigated are allegations of market dominance and anti-competitive behaviour, the unauthorised scraping and commercial use of copyrighted news content to develop and train Generative AI models, and the lack of fair commercial agreements between global technology companies and Nigerian news publishers. The investigation will also consider claims that Nigerian media organisations have been denied the opportunity to negotiate fair compensation for the use of their content.
Recall that in 2025, FCCPC took action against a major technology company, (Meta), where it secured a landmark judgment over violations of the FCCPA, including data privacy breaches, resulting in a $220 million fine. Meta has, however, appealed the decision.
Also, a similar issue was addressed in South Africa, where negotiations following an investigation by the South African Competition Commission led to Google agreeing to pay South African news organisations R688 million (about US$40 million) annually for between three and five years.
