By Franklin Adole
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate global technology companies, including Meta, Alphabet (Google), X (formerly Twitter), and generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the unlawful exploitation of content produced by 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 (NPAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).
The Federal Government conveyed the President’s directive to the FCCPC through a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to the petition, the technology companies are accused of engaging in practices that could undermine fair competition, weaken the commercial viability of Nigerian media organisations, and infringe on the rights of publishers and content creators.
The FCCPC’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the Commission would conduct an independent, transparent, and evidence-based investigation into the allegations.
He stressed that the probe was intended to establish the facts rather than presume wrongdoing on the part of any company.
“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. 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 said.
He added that every party involved would be given a fair opportunity to present relevant information before any conclusions are reached.
According to the FCCPC, the investigation will determine whether the conduct complained of violates the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable Nigerian law.
Among the issues to be examined are allegations of abuse of market dominance and other anti-competitive conduct by the technology companies.
The Commission will also investigate claims that copyrighted news reports, broadcast materials, and other original journalistic content were extracted, scraped, ingested, or commercially used without authorisation to develop and train Generative AI models.
Another major issue is the alleged failure of the global technology firms to enter into equitable commercial arrangements with Nigerian media organisations, including claims that publishers have been denied meaningful opportunities to negotiate fair compensation for the use of their journalistic content.
The FCCPC noted that it had previously investigated Meta and, in 2025, secured a landmark judgement against the company over violations of the FCCPA, including data privacy breaches, resulting in a $220 million fine. Meta has appealed the decision.
The Commission also pointed to developments in South Africa, where similar complaints by media organisations led to an investigation by the South African Competition Commission, culminating in an agreement under which Google committed to compensate South African news media with R688 million (about $40 million) annually for between three and five years.
The FCCPC said its investigation would seek to determine whether similar concerns exist in Nigeria and whether regulatory intervention is required to ensure fair competition and sustainable commercial relationships between global technology companies and Nigerian media organisations.