President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has instructed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to look into the actions of major tech companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms in Nigeria. This is in response to claims that they are engaging in unfair practices and exploiting Nigerian news content.

This instruction came after the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), which includes groups like 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), submitted a joint petition to the Presidency.

On Monday, the FCCPC released a statement saying that the President has ordered them to investigate complaints about some global tech firms potentially harming fair competition, threatening the financial stability of Nigerian media outlets, and violating the rights of content creators and publishers.

The FCCPC noted that this message from the Federal Government was communicated through a letter signed by Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation.

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In addition to examining major tech firms, the investigation will also include Generative AI platforms active in Nigeria. There are increasing worries about these platforms using copyrighted journalistic material for training AI models without permission or payment.

The FCCPC pointed out that the investigation shows growing worries in Nigeria’s media sector about how digital platforms are affecting the country’s news industry.

The Commission plans to look into companies like Meta, Alphabet, X (previously known as Twitter), and some AI platforms due to claims of unfair business practices that might harm Nigerian publishers.

Tunji Bello, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, mentioned that the Commission will carry out a fair, open, and fact-based investigation.

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“We understand how important the media is for Nigeria’s democracy and also recognize the key role technology plays in promoting innovation and economic growth. Our job is to find out the facts and make sure competition in the digital space is fair, clear, and follows Nigerian law,” Bello stated.

He emphasized that this investigation should not be seen as an assumption of wrongdoing by any company.

“This inquiry does not target any organization based on a presumption of guilt. Instead, it provides a chance to carefully review the facts, listen to all involved parties, and see if any actions have led to unfair competition or business practices. Everyone will have a fair chance to share important information before we reach any conclusions,” he added.

The Commission stated that it will find out if the practices being looked into break the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) of 2018 or any other relevant laws.

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Some important issues to be reviewed include claims of market dominance and unfair competition by large tech companies, as well as accusations of unauthorized use, scraping, and commercial exploitation of copyrighted news articles, broadcast materials, and other original journalism for creating and training Generative AI models.

The FCCPC will also check complaints from Nigerian media organizations that they have not been given fair chances to negotiate proper compensation or business agreements for their content.

The Commission reminded everyone that it had previously investigated Meta and achieved a significant ruling in 2025, leading to a $220 million fine for alleged violations of the FCCPA, including data privacy issues. The company has appealed this ruling.

Comparing this situation to others, the FCCPC pointed out that after similar concerns from media organizations in South Africa and an investigation by the South African Competition Commission, Google agreed to pay South African news publishers R688 million (around $40 million) each year for three to five years.

The Commission is hopeful that this investigation will help create a fairer digital marketplace while ensuring fair competition, innovation, and the long-term health of Nigeria’s media industry.