Following complaints from Nigeria’s leading media organisations, President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate whether major technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms have breached competition laws through their treatment of local news publishers.
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’s directive was conveyed to the Commission in a letter signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
Announcing the development in a statement on Monday, the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, said the investigation would focus on allegations of anti-competitive conduct, unlawful exploitation of news content and other practices believed to be undermining the sustainability of Nigeria’s media industry.
According to the statement, global technology companies including Meta, Alphabet and X, formerly Twitter, as well as certain Generative AI platforms operating in Nigeria, are among the entities expected to come under regulatory scrutiny.
The Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the inquiry would be conducted impartially and guided strictly by available evidence.
“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 stressed that the investigation should not be interpreted as a presumption of guilt against any company, explaining that every affected party would be given an opportunity to present its position.
“This inquiry is not directed at any entity by presumption of wrongdoing. 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. Every party will be accorded a fair opportunity to present relevant information before any conclusions are reached.”
According to the FCCPC, the investigation will determine whether the alleged conduct violates the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 or any other applicable law.
Among the issues to be examined are allegations that some technology firms have abused their market dominance, unlawfully extracted, scraped or commercially utilised copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials and other journalistic content for the training and development of Generative AI models without authorisation or compensation.
The Commission will also assess claims that Nigerian media organisations have been denied meaningful opportunities to negotiate fair commercial arrangements for the use of their content by global technology companies.
Ijagwu noted that concerns over the relationship between technology companies and news publishers are not unique to Nigeria, recalling that following an investigation by the South African Competition Commission, Google agreed to compensate South African news media with R688 million (about $40 million) annually for between three and five years.
The FCCPC also recalled that it had previously investigated Meta over alleged violations of the FCCPA and, in 2025, secured a landmark judgment resulting in a $220 million penalty against the company over data privacy and consumer protection breaches, a decision that remains under appeal.
The Commission said the latest inquiry is expected to provide clarity on the concerns raised by Nigerian media organisations while ensuring that competition within the country’s digital ecosystem remains fair, transparent and beneficial to all stakeholders.
